BX  9178  .W54  1895 
Wilson,  Samuel  Jennings, 

1828-1883. 
Occasional  addresses  and 

sermons 


OCCASIONAL 
ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS 


BY    THE    LATE 


Rev.  SAMUEL  j/WILSON,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Senior  Professor  in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Allegheny, Pa. 
and  some  time  Pastor  of  the  Sixth  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Pittsburgh 


WITH    A    MEMOIR    BY    THE 

Rev.  WILLIAM   H.  JEFFERS,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Senior  Professor  in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary 
EDITED    BY    THE 

Rev.  MAURICE   E.  WILSON,   D.  D. 

AND    THE 

Rev.  CALVIN  DILL  WILSON 


NEW  YORK 
DODD,    MEAD   &   COMPANY 

1895 


Copyright,  1894, 

BY 

DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY, 


All  rights  reserved , 


THE   MERSHON   COMPANY   TRESS, 
RAHWAY,   N.   J. 


TO    THOSE 

M'HO    WERf:    NEVER    ABSENT    FROM    THE   JNIIND    AND    HEART    OF 

THE   AUTHOR, 

HIS    STUDENTS   AND    PARISHIONERS, 

IN   ACCORDANCE    WITH 

FHAT    WHICH    WOULD    CERTAINLY    HAVE    BEEN    HIS    OWN    WISH, 

THIS    BOOK    IS    DEDICATED. 


PREFACE. 


This  volume  is  published  in  compliance  with  the 
repeated  and  earnest  requests  of  students,  friends, 
and  admirers  of  the  author  ;  its  immediate  occasion 
being  the  desire  expressed  to  one  of  the  editors  at 
a  meeting  of  the  alumni  of  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  at  Saratoga,  last  May. 

In  the  following  selections  from  the  writings  of 
Professor  Wilson  are  presented  specimens  of  his  bio- 
graphical and  historical  addresses,  patriotic  speeches, 
and  sermons.  Some  of  these  have  been  printed  be- 
fore in  fugitive  form  ;  but  it  was  the  wish  of  many 
that  they  be  collected  into  one  volume,  together  with 
additional  material  from  manuscript. 

It  is  due  to  the  author  to  state  that  several  of  the 
sermons  are  little  more  than  generous  outlines.  In 
his  later  life  he  was  largely  an  extemporal  preacher, 
usually  committing  to  paper  less  than  one-half  of 
his  discourse.  The  great  body  of  his  work  lies 
untouched. 

The  editors  gratefully  acknowledge  the  courtesy  of 
the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  and  the  Pres- 
byterian Journal  Company,  in  granting  the  use  of  the 
copyright  of  "  John  Knox,"  "  Presbyterianism  in  the 
United    States   from   the    Adoption   of  the   Form  of 


VI  PREFACE. 

Government  to  the  Present  Time,"  and  "  The   Dis- 
tinctive Principles  of  Presbyterianism/' 

They  are  especially  indebted  to  Professor  Jeffers 
for  his  service  of  love  in  the  preparation  of  a  Memoir 
so  careful  and  comprehensive. 

M.  E.  W. 

C.  D.  W. 

December,  1894. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Memoir, ix 

Tributes, xli 

I.     Addresses  : 

I.  John  Knox,      ......  3 

II.  Presbyterianism  in  the  United  States 

FROM  THE  Adoption  of  the  Form  of 

Government  to  the  Present  Time,  39 

III.  The  Distinctive  Principles  of  Presby- 

terianism,       95 

IV.  The  History  of  Preaching,      .         .  113 

V.  Our  Country  Calls— A  War  Speech,  147 

VI.  Ministerial  Consecration,         .         .  157 

VII.  Twenty-fifth  Anniversary  of  the  Pas- 

torate of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brownson,  173 

VIII.     "  Higher  Life"— A  Chapel  Talk,    .  187 
IX.     Address  to  the  Graduating  Class  of 

1883 195 

II.     Sermons  : 

I.     The  Spirit  of  Missions,     ...  201 

II.  "Quit  You  Itke  Men,"         .         .         .  219 

III.  Hope  for  the  Republic,    ...  247 

IV.  The  Thief  on  the  Cross,     .        .         .271 
V.     Tribulation  and  its  Fruii  s,     .         .  289 

VI.  The  Ascension  of  Christ,     .         .        .305 

VII.  The  Great  Salvation,       .         .        .  3I7 

VIII.  Caleb  and  the  Anakim,         .         .        .329 
IX.     Farewell  Sermon,      ....  341 


MEMOIR 

BY 

PROFESSOR  W.  H.  JEFFERS. 


Samuel  Jennings  Wilson  was  a  native  of  Wash- 
ington Co.,  Pennsylvania,  a  district  of  the  State  which 
was  thoroughly  seeded  with  evangelical  truth  a 
century  ago,  and  has  been  yielding  to  the  Church 
since  a  singularly  rich  harvest  of  lives  consecrated  to 
the  Gospel  ministry.  The  home  of  his  parents,  Henry 
and  Jane  Dill  Wilson,  was  situated  on  a  moderate- 
sized  farm,  about  five  miles  east  of  Washington.  The 
date  of  his  birth  was  July  19,  1828. 

At  this  point  our  memoir  properly  begins  ;  yet  it 
may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to  know  a  few  facts 
connected  with  the  earlier  history  of  his  family.  The 
farm  on  which  his  parents  lived  had  been  granted  by 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  his  grandfather.  Captain 
Thomas  Dill,  for  military  services  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War.  Among  the  engagements  in  which  he  had 
taken  part  was  the  Battle  of  Brandywine,  in  which  he 
was  severely  wounded.  His  father,  Matthew  Dill, 
served  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution  as  colonel  of 
the  5th  Battalion  of  York  Co.  Several  of  his  sons 
besides  Thomas  were  active  in  the  service  ;  one  of 
them  suffered  death  on  a  British  prison  ship  in  New 
York     Harbor.     The    ground    on    which    stands   the 


X  MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS. 

Presbyterian  Church  at  Dillsburg,  York  Co.,  Fa.,  was 
received  as  a  donation  from  this  Colonel  Matthew 
Dill. 

Thomas  Dill,  already  mentioned,  was  distinguished 
in  his  later  years  no  less  for  his  ardent  piety  than  he 
had  been  for  his  self-sacrificing  patriotism.  He  be- 
came noted  for  his  habit,  somewhat  eccentric,  indeed, 
but  thoroughly  devout,  of  visiting  his  neighbors,  far 
and  near,  that  he  might  pray  with  them.  In  Western 
Pennsylvania  and  Eastern  Ohio  he  was  widely  known 
as  the  Praying  Elder,  and  did  much  to  promote 
revivals  and  quicken  the  spiritual  life  in  Christian 
homes. 

His  daughter,  Jane  Dill  Wilson,  inherited  in  full 
measure  her  father's  devoutness  and  spirituality. 
She  was  known  in  the  community  in  which  she  lived 
as  a  woman  of  unusual  faith  and  piety.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  S.  C.  Jennings,  referring  to  a  revival  of  religion 
which  took  place  during  his  ministry  at  Washington, 
says  :  "  Much  was  attributed  to  her  instrumentality  ; 
and  I  could  detail  an  account  of  conversions  which 
I  regarded  as  answers  to  her  prayers  and  ardent 
wishes  ;  for  she  did  what  she  could.  It  may  readily 
be  supposed  that  besides  attending  to  her  domestic 
duties  she  would  be  faithful  in  the  religious  instruc- 
tion of  her  children.  The  older  ones  regularly 
accompanied  her  to  the  church  at  Washington,  five 
miles  distant,  where  she  was  a  member  ;  and  she 
brought  others  with  her  who  attended  the  enquiry 
meeting  during  my  ministry.  To  me  as  a  youthful 
preacher  she  was  a  great  helper."  How  much  the 
Church  owes  to  the  quiet  influence  of  such  mothers  ! 

Her  son  Samuel,  like  him   who  bore  the  name  of 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS.  XI 

old,  was  lent  in  covenant  to  the  Lord  ;  and  when  the 
seal  of  baptism  was  applied,  the  additional  name  of 
Jennings  was  given  him,  after  the  pastor  whom  she 
so  highly  esteemed  for  his  work's  sake.  Her  in- 
struction and  example  exercised  a  controlling  influ- 
ence on  his  character  as  he  grew  toward  manhood, 
and  determined  in  no  small  degree  the  tenor  of  his 
subsequent  life. 

He  was  nineteen  years  of  age  when  he  entered 
upon  his  academical  course  in  Washington  College. 
The  way  had  not  been  open  to  him  until  then  for 
realizing  the  hope  he  had  long  cherished  of  securing 
a  liberal  education.  His  years  previously  had  been 
divided  between  the  labors  of  the  farm  and  a  pre- 
paratory school  in  the  neighborhood,  his  summer 
months  being  devoted  to  the  former  and  his  winters 
to  the  latter,  in  which  he  was  first  pupil  and  after- 
ward teacher.  The  opportunities  of  study  which  he 
thus  enjoyed  had  been  well  improved.  In  the 
English  branches  and  in  mathematics  he  was  some- 
what advanced  ;  a  foundation  had  been  laid  in  Latin, 
but  little  or  nothing  had  been  undertaken  in  Greek. 
Accordingly  his  first  year  in  Washington  was  pre- 
paratory. At  its  close  he  was  enrolled  with  the  class 
of  1852,  in  connection  with  which  he  continued  till 
his  graduation. 

The  quality  of  a  man's  mental  and  moral  fibre 
never  fails  to  become  apparent  during  college  life. 
Though  reserved  and  unassuming  in  his  manner, 
young  Wilson  was  soon  recognized  among  his  class- 
mates and  throughout  the  institution  as  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability.  He  had  no  reputation 
for  brilliancy  ;    his  method  of  study  was  not  that  of 


Xll  MEMOIR    F>V    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS. 

rapid  acquisition  ;  but  he  was  systematic,  painstaking, 
and  persistent.  With  an  inflexibility  of  purpose 
worthy  a  Stoic  philosopher  he  determined  never  to 
allow  the  proper  work  of  to-day  to  interfere  with  that 
of  to-morrow.  The  recitations  of  the  morning  must  be 
prepared  without  fail  the  evening  before,  even  though 
his  hours  of  sleep  should  be  abridged  in  consequence. 
To  this  resolution  he  seems  to  have  adhered  with 
characteristic  firmness.  It  does  not  appear  that 
during  his  entire  college  course  a  single  failure  was 
recorded  against  him  in  the  class-room.  And  in 
addition  to  the  prescribed  studies,  he  accomplished 
an  unusual  amount  of  general  reading,  historical, 
literary,  and  scientific.  Though  there  were  several 
men  of  acknowledged  ability  in  his  class,  the  dis- 
tinction of  valedictorian  was  awarded  him  by  the 
Faculty,  and  his  classmates  heartily  approved  their 
decision. 

One  who  was  with  him  in  the  recitation  room  four 
years  and  a  half,  and  part  of  this  time  his  room-mate, 
has  written  :  "  To  the  students  in  general  he  would 
appear  to  be  a  man  of  few  words,  reticent,  unambi- 
tious, perfectly  unaspiring  ;  but  to  those  who  were 
most  intimate  with  him  he  was  known  to  have  a  vast, 
though  righteous,  ambition.  He  was  thorough  in 
everything,  true  as  steel  to  his  friends,  all  the  time  at 
his  'post,  universally  esteemed  and  trusted  by  the 
students,  and  especially  beloved  by  the  members  of 
his  class." 

A  few  months  after  his  graduation  the  chair  of 
classical  instruction  became  vacant  through  the  death 
of  Professor  Nicholas  Murray.  An  invitation  was 
extended  to  him,  then  a  student   in  the  Theological 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS.  XIU 

Seminary,  to  take  charge  of  the  classes  in  Latin  and 
Greek  for  the  summer  session.  He  accepted  with 
hesitancy,  understanding  the  delicacy  of  the  task 
assigned  him  ;  but  his  embarrassment  was  soon  re- 
lieved by  the  spontaneous  welcome  he  received  from 
the  advanced  classes.  His  earlier  experience  as  a 
teacher  and  his  thorough  habits  of  study  enabled  him 
to  perform  the  duties  of  the  chair  to  the  satisfaction 
of  all. 

There  is  another  feature  of  his  college  life  which 
must  receive  mention  as  still  more  significant  and  de- 
terminative of  his  future  career.  Before  his  coming 
to  Washington  and  during  his  first  year  in  college  he 
had  been  habitually  thoughtful  and  reverent.  He 
was  never  indifferent  to  things  spiritual,  never  could 
have  become  so,  in  view  of  the  constitution  of  his 
mind,  and  the  early  training  which  he  had  received. 
New  and  alluring  vistas  of  thought  were  now  opening 
to  him  ;  the  work  of  life  with  its  serious  as  well  as  its 
attractive  side  was  coming  into  nearer  prospect  ;  and 
no  doubt  he  felt  at  times  in  accordance  with  the 
picture  presented  by  Prodicus  in  his  familiar  apologue, 
that  he  was  approaching  the  solitary  place  where  the 
two  ways  meet,  and  where  he  must  make  openly  and 
once  for  all  the  choice  that  would  determine  his 
future  course.  In  the  providence  of  God  it  was 
ordered  that  during  the  second  year  of  his  college 
life,  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Washington  was 
blessed  with  a  revival  of  great  power.  The  present 
senior  pastor,  Dr.  Brownson,  had  just  entered  upon 
his  work  when  the  blessing  came.  For  some  weeks 
the  quiet  but  deep  and  thorough  work  of  grace  went 
forward.     The  college  shared  with  the  church  in  the 


XIV  MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS. 

Spiritual  baptism.  Fifty-nine  names  stand  recorded 
on  the  church's  roil  as  part  of  the  fruits  of  that  re- 
vival, and  among  these  is  the  name  of  Samuel  J.  Wil- 
son. His  spiritual  nature  had  evidently  been  stirred 
to  its  inmost  depths.  The  remembrance  of  those 
revival  scenes,  the  sermons,  the  prayers,  the  ex- 
periences, remained  fresh  in  his  recollection  ever 
afterward,  and  he  never  referred  to  them  but  with 
kindling  emotion.*  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  peculiar  impress  which  he  then  received,  the 
special  lineaments  and  shading  of  character  then 
stamped  upon  his  spiritual  being,  remained  with  him 
through  all  his  subsequent  life.  The  steel  of  his 
nature  ever  after  retained  the  specific  temper  which 
was  given  it  in  the  fire  of  that  revival. 

As  has  been  mentioned,  his  graduation  at  Washing- 
ton occurred  in  1852.  The  question  of  his  life-work 
had  been  settled  as  far  as  deliberate  choice  and 
solemn  consecration  on  his  part  could  determine  it  ; 
and  in  accordance  with  this  decision  he  at  once 
entered  the  Western  Theological  Seminary.  With 
the  life  and  work  of  the  Seminary  he  had  already 
been  made  somewhat  familiar.  kw  older  brother, 
Thomas  B.  Wilson,  had  but  recently  completed  the 
course  and  was  now  beginning  his  ministry  in  one  of 
the  churches  of  the  city.  By  him  he  was  introduced 
to  the  professors  and  students,  and  relieved  of  much 
of  the  embarrassment  to  which  a  young  man  is  liable 
when  entering  a  new  circle  and  beginning  a  new  line 
of  work.  This  brother,  it  may  be  said  in  passing, 
after  a  brief  but  earnest  and  fruitful  pastorate,  first  in 
Pittsburgh,  and  then  in  Xenia,  O.,  died  at  the  age 
of  thirty-six.  His  two  sons  have  taken  up  the  work 
*  See  pages  179,  180. — Eds. 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.    H.   JEFFERS.  XV 

which  he  laid  down,  and  though  still  young,  have 
become  well  known  and  influential  ministers  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

The  Seminary  building  in  1852,  containing  chapel, 
library,  and  lecture-rooms,  as  well  as  apartments  for 
the  fifty-five  or  more  students  then  in  attendance, 
stood  on  the  summit  of  Monument  Hill.  Its  appoint- 
ments and  accommodations,  as  Professor  Wilson  used 
to  remind  the  students  of  later  years,  were  not  such 
as  to  encourage  luxurious  habits,  or  to  unfit  young 
men  for  the  practice  of  self-denial  in  the  ministry. 
The  ascent  from  the  street  was  laborious,  the  furni- 
ture meagre,  the  walls  bare,  the  descent  in  either 
direction  dangerous  for  those  not  accustomed  to 
stand  on  slippery  places,  the  outlook  from  the  windows 
less  exhilarating  than  might  have  been  expected,  in 
view  of  the  cloud  of  smoke  which  made  it  difficult  at 
times  even  to  trace  the  outline  of  the  hills  or  discern 
the  meeting  of  the  rivers.  Yet  he  seems  to  have 
found  his  life  in  the  Seminary  from  the  very  beginning 
congenial  and  attractive.  He  soon  became  absorbed 
in  his  new  studies,  which  interested  him  more  deeply 
than  those  of  the  college  curriculum,  and  he  pursued 
in  these  the  method  of  careful  and  thorough  mastery 
which  he  had  previously  adopted.  His  Hebrew  was 
often  prepared  several  days  beforehand,  that  the 
vocabulary  might  be  the  more  deeply  imprinted  on  his 
memory  by  frequent  reviews.  His  history  was  thrown 
into  tabulated  form  so  that  its  facts  might  be  grasped 
and  held  the  more  firmly.  In  theology  he  tasked 
himself  with  a  liberal  course  of  reading,  in  connection 
with  the  study  of  lectures  and  text-book.  And  in  his 
careful   economy    of   time,    provision    was    made    for 


XVI  MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.  H.  JEFFERS. 

heart-culture  no  less  than  mental  improvement.  He 
believed  firmly  with  Luther,  Bene  ordsse  est  bene  stu- 
duisse,  a  motto  which  he  often  repeated  to  his  students 
subsequently.  In  recalling  the  pleasant  memories  of 
his  Seminary  life  he  would  frequently  speak  with  deep 
interest  of  the  morning  prayer-meetings  to  which  the 
classes  were  summoned  by  the  early  bell  in  the  hall, 
inconveniently  early  for  some,  and  of  the  alternate 
Mondays  which  were  given  wholly  to  prayer  and 
meditation.  He  would  gratefully  recur  to  the  seasons 
of  refreshing  which  were  at  times  enjoyed  in  the  insti- 
tution, and  to  the  spiritual  influence  exerted  by  those 
holy  men  of  God  who  then  constituted  the  Faculty. 

At  the  close  of  the  Seminary  year  in  1855  his 
theological  course  was  completed,  but  his  connec- 
tion with  the  institution  was  not  allowed  to  terminate. 
His  accurate  scholarship  and  force  of  character  had 
commended  him  to  the  P'aculty  as  one  who  might 
render  them  valuable  assistance  in  the  work  of  in- 
struction. The  chair  of  Ecclesiastical  History  had 
become  vacant  through  the  transfer  of  Dr.  McGill  to 
the  Seminary  at  Princeton.  The  Professor  of  Biblical 
Literature,  whose  work  included  both  Old  and  New 
Testament  exegesis,  was  in  urgent  need  of  assistance 
in  Hebrew.  As  the  way  was  not  yet  open  for  the 
election  of  a  new  professor,  it  was  necessary  to  secure 
as  instructor  one  who  would  be  qualified  to  render 
aid  in  both  these  departments.  The  selection  was 
made  with  entire  unanimity  on  the  part  of  the  Faculty 
and  the  members  of  the  Board  who  were  consulted, 
and  the  name  of  Samuel  J.  Wilson  was  announced 
for  the  ensuing  year  as  Instructor  in  Ecclesiastical 
History  and  Hebrew.     Thus,  under  the  guidance,  as 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.    H.   JEFFERS.  XVU 

he  always  felt,  of  Divine  Providence,  and  without  any 
seeking  on  his  part,  he  was  led  to  enter  upon  that  which 
proved  the  great  work  of  his  life. 

On  the  i8th  of  April,  1855,  he  appeared  before  the 
Presbytery  of  Washington,  then  in  session  in  Wheel- 
ing, as  a  candidate  for  licensure.  His  early  pastor, 
Dr.  Brownson,  was  in  the  Moderator's  chair  ;  and  it 
was  a  pleasant  coincidence  which  he  often  recalled, 
that  he  whom  he  revered  as  his  spiritual  father,  under 
whose  ministry  he  had  been  brought  into  the  com- 
munion of  the  Church,  and  from  whose  hand  also  he 
had  received  his  college  diploma  at  graduation,  was  the 
one  from  whom  he  now  received  the  official  announce- 
ment of  his  license  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

His  first  work  in  the  pulpit  was  that  of  supplying 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Steubenville  while 
the  pastor,  Rev.  H.  G.  Comingo,  D.  D.,  was  travelling 
in  Europe.  After  this  he  preached  for  some  months 
in  the  Second  Church  of  Wheeling  and  received  an 
urgent  call  to  become  their  pastor;  but  his  engage- 
ment with  the  Seminary  precluded  his  acceptance. 

After  two  years  of  service  as  instructor  in  the 
Seminary,  in  which  he  fully  met  the  expectations  of 
the  Faculty  and  indicated  his  eminent  fitness  for  this 
line  of  work,  it  was  felt  by  the  friends  of  the  institu- 
tion that  he  should  be  advanced  to  the  full  professor- 
ship. He  was  elected  to  this  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  1857,  in  session  at  Lexington,  Ky.;  and  on  the 
27th  of  April  the  year  following  he  was  duly  installed 
as  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Homiletics. 
The  union  of  two  subjects  of  theological  instruction 
so  entirely  distinct  in  the  department  assigned  him 
was  not  intended   to  be  permanent.     It  was  to  con- 


XVIU         MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS. 

tinue  merely  until  the  Faculty  could  be  further 
strengthened.  When  Dr.  W.  M.  Paxton,  three  years 
later,  was  elected  Professor  of  Sacred  Rhetoric,  the 
proper  adjustment  was  effected  ;  and  Professor  Wilson 
was  allowed  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  Sacred  and 
Ecclesiastical  History.  These  branches,  together 
with  the  History  of  Doctrines,  included  subsequently, 
continued  to  be  his  proper  department  during  the 
twenty-five  years  of  his  service. 

It  was  not  without  embarrassment  and  misgiving 
that  Professor  Wilson,  with  his  modest  estimate  of 
his  own  ability  and  his  conscious  want  of  experience, 
took  his  place  beside  the  eminent  men  who  then  con- 
stituted the  Faculty.  Dr.  David  Elliott  ranked  as 
senior  professor,  dignified  in  manner,  saintly  in 
character,  for  years  past  a  recognized  leader  in  the 
Church  ;  next  to  him  was  Dr.  Jacobus,  an  accom- 
plished scholar,  a  high  authority  in  Biblical  interpre- 
tation, and  an  eminent  author ;  and  then  Dr.  Plumer, 
renowned  as  a  pulpit  orator,  a  commanding  figure  in 
church  courts  and  religious  assemblies,  singularly  im- 
pressive and  magnetic  in  the  lecture-room  and  the 
conference.  To  become  the  colleague  of  these  distin- 
guished men  he  justly  considered  a  high  honor  ;  to 
be  judged  by  the  standard  of  their  attainments  he 
could  not  but  regard  as  a  severe  ordeal.  But  the 
cordiality  with  which  he  was  received  by  both  pro- 
fessors and  students  at  once  relieved  him  of  his  em- 
barrassment and  afforded  him  all  needed  encourage- 
ment in  his  work.  The  high  conception  which  he 
was  led  to  form  at  the  outset  of  the  character  and 
attainments  requisite  for  a  theological  professorship 
was  doubtless  of  great  value  to  him  in  subsequent  years. 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS.  XIX 

The  field  which  he  was  required  to  traverse,  as  Pro- 
fessor of  Sacred  and  Ecclesiastical  History,  is  one  of 
such  extent  that  to  become  familiar  with  all  portions 
of  it  is  the  work  of  a  lifetime.  Sacred  or  biblical  his- 
tory as  derived  from  a  careful  and  critical  interpreta- 
tion of  the  sacred  text,  and  illustrated  from  ancient 
monuments,  contemporaneous  records,  and  tradition,  is 
a  vast  field  for  investigation  in  itself.  The  history  of 
the  Christian  Church  through  its  more  than  eighteen 
centuries  of  varying  progress,  growth,  degeneracy, 
corruption,  reformation,  persecution,  controversies,  is 
a  field  equally  vast,  with  a  literature  still  more  bewil- 
dering in  its  compass  and  variety.  These  two  were 
united  in  the  department  of  instruction  for  which 
Professor  Wilson  was  to  be  responsible.  Accordingly 
the  work  of  preparing  for  his  classes,  while  to  him 
intensely  interesting,  was  necessarily  laborious.  He 
was  not  so  constituted  that  he  could  rest  satisfied  with 
superficial  and  showy  acquirements.  Neither  his  taste, 
his  judgment,  nor  his  conscience  would  admit  of  any 
preparation  for  his  work  which  had  not  the  stamp  of 
thoroughness.  For  a  time  he  fell  into  the  mistake, 
to  which  ardent  students  are  ever  liable,  of  denying 
himself  his  afternoon  recreation  and  abridging  his 
hours  of  sleep,  in  order  that  he  might  get  on  more 
rapidly  with  the  course  of  reading  which  he  had 
mapped  out  for  himself.  His  health,  as  might  be 
supposed,  suffered  in  consequence,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  modify  his  plans  ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether 
he  ever  learned  the  lesson  of  observing  due  modera- 
tion in  intellectual  work. 

As  an  equipment  for  his  work  in  the  field  of  Old 
Testament  History  he  regarded  a  measure  of  Hebrevv 


XX  MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS. 

scholarship  as  essential  ;  and  this  he  aimed  to  supple- 
ment with  some  knowledge  of  the  cognate  languages. 
He  thought  it  important,  too,  that  he  should  keep 
himself  fairly  conversant  with  the  latest  investigations 
in  the  sphere  of  biblical  archaeology  and  sacred  geog- 
raphy, and  with  the  latest  movements  in  Old  Testa- 
ment  criticism.  In  dealing  with  the  history  of  the 
early  Church,  particularly  in  tracing  the  development 
of  Christian  doctrine,  he  would  find  his  way,  whenever 
practicable,  to  the  sources.  He  aimed  at  familiarity 
with  the  writings  of  the  leading  Reformers,  especially 
those  of  Switzerland  and  Scotland.  Of  the  careful 
study  which  he  expended  on  the  life  and  times  of 
John  Knox  an  intimation  is  given  in  his  celebrated 
lecture.  With  the  general  progress  of  investigation 
in  the  department  of  historical  theology,  as  presented 
in  periodical  literature,  German  and  French  as  well 
as  English,  he  strove  to  keep  himself  thoroughly 
familiar.  It  is  probable  that  he  attempted  to  accom- 
plish too  much  during  the  first  few  years  of  his  ser- 
vice in  the  Seminary — that  he  subjected  himself  to  an 
undue  strain  in  his  effort  to  acquire  at  once  the  full 
mastery  of  his  subjects  ;  but  of  his  remarkable  effi- 
ciency as  a  teacher  there  can  be  no  question. 

His  own  interest  in  the  branches  which  he  taught 
was  kept  fresh  through  daily  study  and  investigation, 
and  this  naturally  awakened  a  corresponding  interest 
in  his  classes.  He  was  considered  specially  success- 
ful in  giving  attractiveness  to  the  more  rugged  and 
forbidding  portions  of  ecclesiastical  history.  He 
had  the  art  of  bringing  into  their  proper  relation  the 
disjointed  facts  of  the  narrative  ;  of  marking  the  suc- 
cessive stages  of  a  bewildering  controversy  ;  of  point- 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS.  XXI 

ing  out  the  underlying  principle  to  which  events  were 
due  and  by  which  they  were  to  be  explained,  and 
thus  evoking  order  from  apparent  confusion.  And 
his  skill  as  an  instructor  in  this  department  was  illus- 
trated no  less  in  what  he  omitted  to  teach  than  in 
what  he  taught.  Amid  the  multitude  of  incidents, 
chaos  of  facts,  with  which  he  had  to  deal,  he  was 
careful  not  to  allow  himself  or  his  classes  to  become 
bewildered.  He  would  fix  attention  on  the  character- 
istic features  of  each  period  and  keep  these  steadily  in 
view  until  they  had  been  thoroughly  photographed  on 
the  memory  and  made,  as  far  as  might  be,  a  perma- 
nent acquisition. 

At  the  death  of  Dr.  Jacobus,  in  October,  1876,  Dr. 
Wilson  became  the  senior  professor  and  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  Faculty.  Within  the  eighteen  years 
which  had  elapsed  since  his  inauguration,  the  Faculty 
had  undergone  a  complete  change.  First  came  the 
resignation  of  Dr.  Plumer,  who  was  followed  in  the 
chair  of  Theology  by  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge.  Then  Dr. 
Paxton  resigned  the  chair  of  Sacred  Rhetoric,  having 
accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  New  York,  to  be  succeeded  a  little  later 
by  Dr.  Hornblower.  The  venerable  Dr.  Elliott,  after 
his  thirty-eight  years  of  service,  died  in  1874;  two 
years  later  occurred  the  sudden  and  lamented  death 
of  Dr.  Jacobus. 

In  consequence  of  these  changes  it  had  frequently 
become  necessary  for  the  professors  to  take  up  work 
which  lay  outside  of  their  proper  departments.  Some 
delay  on  the  part  of  the  Board  in  filling  the  recurring 
vacancies  was  unavoidable,  and  in  the  meantime  the 
work  of  instruction  had  to  be  provided  for  in  all  the 


XXU  MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS. 

branches  of  the  course.  It  was  remarked  by  his  col- 
leagues that  Dr.  Wilson  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  such 
extra  service  ;  that  with  little  embarrassment  to  him- 
self and  no  detriment  to  the  classes  he  could  take  up, 
in  an  emergency,  and  conduct  successfully,  the  work 
of  any  department  in  the  Seminary.  There  was  no 
branch  in  the  curriculum,  it  was  said,  which  he  did 
not  at  some  time  teach,  and  teach  well. 

During  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life  he  had 
devolved  upon  him,  in  addition  to  his  regular  work, 
the  administration  of  the  Scholarship  Fund  and  the 
general  supervision  of  the  students,  which  materially 
increased  his  labor  and  responsibility.  For  the 
financial  management  he  had  but  little  taste,  and,  he 
thought,  but  little  aptitude  ;  but  the  work  of  helping, 
counselling,  and  encouraging  the  young  men  was  to 
him  thoroughly  congenial.  He  was  always  ready, 
though  quiet  and  seemingly  distant  in  his  manner,  to 
welcome  the  confidence  of  those  who  approached  him 
for  advice  and  spiritual  counsel  ;  and  as  his  relations 
with  the  students  now  became  more  intimate,  he  was 
all  the  more  earnest  in  seeking  to  impart  to  them 
spiritual  quickening  and  stimulation.  "  I  am  per- 
suaded," he  would  say  again  and  again,  "  that  more 
should  be  done  to  i7ispire  these  young  men  for  their 
work."  He  sought  to  have  the  atmosphere  of  the 
institution  so  warm  with  spiritual  influence  that  every 
heart  might  catch  the  glow,  that  every  student  might 
go  forth  to  the  field  as  the  Disciples  from  the  upper 
chamber  in  Jerusalem,  on  whom  had  rested  the 
tongues  of  fire.  His  standard  of  ministerial  character 
was  high  ;  he  wished  no  drones  in  the  hive  ;  he  would 
have  everyone  who  was    seeking  admission  earnest 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.  H.   JEFFERS.         XXIU 

and  consecrated;  and  he  would  have  everyone  who  was 
going  forth  filled  with  a  holy  enthusiasm  for  his  work. 
He  attached  special  importance  to  the  meetings  in 
the  chapel  for  conference  and  prayer.  Those  who 
attended  these  conferences  will  not  soon  forget  the 
spirit  and  power  with  which  he  often  spoke.  Some- 
times he  would  begin  with  hesitation  and  seeming 
reluctance,  as  if  feeling  that  others  might  occupy  the 
time  more  profitably.  For.  a  few  sentences  he  would 
proceed  slowly,  pausing  between  his  words,  uncertain 
apparently  what  special  line  of  thought  he  should 
present.  But  the  momentum  would  increase  with 
each  succeeding  sentence.  As  he  mused  the  fire 
would  burn  ;  his  drift  and  purpose  would  be  more 
clearly  indicated  ;  every  ear  would  grow  attentive. 
The  short,  clear  statements  would  follow  each  other 
with  increasing  rapidity,  interspersed  with  luminous 
illustrations,  sometimes  provoking  a  smile,  but  clinch- 
ing the  truth  which  he  sought  to  fix  upon  the  heart 
none  the  less  effectually.  Everyone  present  would 
be  touched  and  thrilled  with  a  style  of  address  which 
might  almost  be  described  in  the  words  of  the  Roman 
poet,  ^^Fervet  immensiLsqiie  I'uit^''  as  he  would  be 
pressing,  perhaps,  the  Church's  aggressive  work — the 
cause  of  Foreign  Missions,  the  cause  of  Home  Mis- 
sions in  the  West  or  South  ;  perhaps  discussing  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  pastorate,  urging  to 
diligence  in  the  work  of  preparation,  or  pleading  for 
the  unreserved  consecration  of  the  life  to  Christ. 
And  the  young  men  would  go  to  their  rooms  with 
new  views  of  the  grandeur  of  the  work  for  which  they 
were  preparing,  and  new  conceptions  of  the  responsi- 
bility connected  with  their  high  calling. 


XXIV  MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.  H.  JEFFERS. 

It  is  perhaps  rarely  that  a  life  is  so  thoroughly  iden- 
tified with  an  educational  institution  as  his  was  with 
the  Western  Theological  Seminary.  His  connection 
with  it  was  continuous,  from  the  time  when  his  name 
was  entered  in  the  matriculation-book  till  the  close  of 
his  life  ;  and  while  many  tempting  fields  were  open 
to  him  in  the  pastorate  and  in  educational  work  else- 
where, he  never  harbored  a  wish,  as  he  often  said, 
to  have  the  relation  sundered.  This  was  due  not 
merely  to  his  feeling  of  loyalty  to  an  institution  by 
which  he  had  been  highly  honored,  but  to  the  con- 
viction that  he  could  in  no  other  position  exert  a 
wider  or  more  lasting  influence.  In  April,  1883,  at 
the  close  of  the  seminary  year,  it  was  remembered  by 
his  friends  that  he  was  just  completing  twenty-five 
years  of  service  since  his  inauguration  as  professor. 
The  directors  and  trustees,  and  many  of  the  alumni 
and  friends  of  the  institution  assembled  to  offer  him 
their  congratulations.  Those  who  were  present  well 
remember  the  earnest  words  of  his  response,  in  which 
he  expressed  his  thankfulness  to  God  that  he  had 
been  preserved  for  so  many  years  of  work  in  the 
Western  Seminary,  and  declared  his  readiness  to 
devote  twenty-five  years  more  to  the  institution,  if 
God  should  spare  him  so  long. 

It  is  natural  that  one  who  was  associated  with  him 
in  the  Faculty  should  give  special  prominence  in  this 
sketch  to  his  work  as  a  theological  professor.  But 
the  record  would  be  very  imperfect  if  it  should  not 
present  with  equal  distinctness  the  eminent  service 
which  he  rendered  to  the  Church  as  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel.  The  work  of  preaching  was  that  to  which 
his  life  had  been  specially  consecrated;  that  to  which 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS.  XXV 

he  looked  forward  with  absorbing  interest  from  the 
beginning  of  his  seminary  course,  and  which  he 
always  found  thoroughly  congenial.  Even  when  his 
other  duties  were  most  engrossing  he  regarded  this 
as  privilege  and  enjoyment  rather  than  exhaustive 
labor.  "  In  the  pulpit  and  in  my  preparation  for  it," 
he  said  on  one  occasion,  *'  I  have  had  the  happiest 
experiences  of  my  life.  I  have  often  gone  to  it 
weary  and  depressed  and  have  come  back  refreshed." 
The  work  which  men  do  with  a  sense  of  enjoyment  is 
for  the  most  part  that  which  nature  or  grace,  or  both 
combined,  have  fitted  them  for  performing  success- 
fully. 

His  licensure  by  the  Presbytery  of  Washington,  at 
the  completion  of  his  seminary  course,  has  been 
already  stated.  On  the  20th  of  October,  1857,  a  few 
months  after  his  election  to  the  professorship,  the 
same  Presbytery  ordained  him  to  the  Gospel  ministry. 
The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Sharpsburg,  then  with- 
out a  pastor,  requested  him  to  take  charge  of  their 
pulpit,  and  to  this  he  consented  with  the  understand- 
ing that  no  services  should  be  expected  of  him  which 
would  interfere  with  his  regular  work  in  the  Seminary. 
The  arrangement,  which  was  thought  of  as  quite 
temporary  at  first,  continued  for  three  years,  and  with 
great  benefit  to  the  congregation.  His  labors  were 
blessed,  shortly  after  they  had  begun,  with  a  revival 
which  is  well  remembered  in  the  history  of  the 
church,  when  more  than  fifty  were  received  to  the 
communion  on  profession  of  their  faith.  No  pastoral 
relation  was  constituted  in  view  of  his  connection 
with  the  Seminary,  but  the  work  of  a  pastor  he  per- 
formed during  his  period  of  service  with  none  the  less 


XXVI         MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.  H.  JEFFERS. 

diligence  and  success.  Tlie  church  was  strengthened 
in  every  respect,  and  advanced  to  a  higher  position  of 
usefuhiess  in  the  community  as  the  result  of  his 
labors. 

In  1 86 1  he  was  induced  to  undertake  the  supply  of 
the  Sixth  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburgh.  If  he 
had  been  seeking  an  inviting  field  for  the  exercise  of 
his  ministry,  he  would  probably  have  declined  the 
invitation.  The  organization  had  been  made  up  of 
discordant  elements  seemingly,  and  its  history  thus 
far  had  been  one  of  alternate  growth  and  decline, 
with  frequent  changes  in  the  pastorate,  due  largely  to 
the  want  of  harmony  and  co-operation  among  the 
members.  The  church  had  been  for  some  time 
vacant  when  he  was  asked  to  take  charge  of  it,  and 
was  greatly  depressed.  Its  membership  had  been 
reduced  to  about  forty  ;  it  was  burdened  with  debt  ; 
its  resources  were  limited,  and  its  prospects  for  the 
future  seemed  very  far  from  encouraging.  He  entered 
with  much  trembling  upon  the  work  that  was  thus 
set  before  him,  the  work  of  strengthening  the  things 
which  remained  ;  and  through  his  earnest  labor,  and 
the  hearty  co-operation  of  the  little  band  that  gathered 
about  him,  the  process  of  restoration  began  almost 
immediately.  Twenty-two  were  added  at  the  first 
communion  ;  a  new  interest  was  felt,  the  throbbing  of 
a  new  life,  before  the  close  of  the  first  year.  The 
church  became  cemented  together  and  organized  for 
work  as  never  before.  Ten  years  later  it  had  a 
membership  of  466,  instead  of  the  forty  with  which 
the  pastorate  began  ;  the  debt  had  been  cancelled, 
the  edifice  remodelled,  and  it  had  become  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  effective  organizations  in  the  city. 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS.        XXvii 

He  ministered  to  this  church  for  fifteen  years,  first 
in  the  relation  of  stated  supply,  then  from  1866  as 
regularly  installed  pastor,  resigning  the  charge  at  the 
close  of  1876  in  view  of  his  increasing  duties  in  the 
Seminary.  The  growth  of  the  church  under  his 
ministry  was  in  the  main  steady  and  uniform.  There 
were  two  seasons  of  special  religious  interest  followed 
by  unusual  accessions,  as  the  records  indicate,  but 
with  this  exception  the  ordinary  conditions  of  spiritual 
husbandry  seem  to  have  prevailed.  The  seed  of  the 
Word  was  duly  sown  ;  the  former  and  the  latter  rain 
came  in  their  season,  and  at  every  recurring  com- 
munion, of  which  there  were  sixty-two  in  all,  the 
church  was  gladdened  with  a  more  or  less  abundant 
in-gathering."^' 

Now  what  were  the  main  characteristics  of  that 
preaching  on  which  the  divine  seal  was  so  conspicu- 
ously set  during  the  years  of  his  regular  ministry,  first 
in  Sharpsburg,  then  in  the  Sixth  Church  ?  These  are 
illustrated  in  some  measure  in  the  selected  sermons 
which  appear  in  this  volume  ;  but  there  are  elements 
of  power  in  the  pulpit  which  are  not  discernible  in  the 
printed  discourse. 

As  a  man  and  as  a  preacher  Dr.  Wilson  was 
thoroughly  and  intensely  earnest.  Those  who  sat 
under  his  ministry  had  no  question  that  he  believed, 
and  therefore  spake.  The  tone  and  emphasis  of  per- 
sonal conviction  could  be  recognized  in  every  utter- 
ance. There  was  that  in  his  manner  which  indicated 
that  he  was  conscious  of  the  divine  presence,  and  that 
his  uppermost  thought  was  not  how  he  might  please 
men,  but  how  he  might  approve  himself  to  God.  His 
earnestness  was  often  that  which  makes  itself  felt, 
*  See  page  357. — Eds. 


XXVUl      MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS. 

rather  than  that  which  is  conspicuous  to  the  eye  or 
obvious  to  the  ear  ;  a  quality  which  baffles  analysis 
and  eludes  description,  but  which  finds  its  way  to  the 
heart  as  nothing  else  can. 

In  harmony  with  this  intense  earnestness  of  pur- 
pose was  the  subject-matter  of  his  discourses.  A 
marked  preference  was  given  in  his  preaching  to  the 
great  central  themes  of  the  Gospel.  He  had  no  such 
dread  of  commonplace  subjects  in  the  pulpit  as  that 
by  which  some  clerical  minds  have  been  invaded. 
He  would  not  allow  himself  or  his  hearers  to  be 
turned  aside  from  the  main  object  of  the  service  by 
the  love  of  novelty  or  sensation.  The  first  text  on 
which  he  preached  as  pastor  of  the  Sixth  Church, 
vividly  recalled  still  by  some  who  were  present,  was 
the  familiar  doxology  :  "  Unto  him  that  loved  us  and 
washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  hath 
made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and  his  father." 
The  text  which 'he  selected  for  his  last  discourse,  at 
the  conclusion  of  his  pastorate,  was  the  no  less  familiar 
benediction  :  "  Now  the  God  of  peace  that  brought 
again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great  Shep- 
herd of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlast- 
ing covenant,  make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work  to 
do  his  will."  These  texts,  the  first  and  the  last  of  the 
series,  are  not  unfair  specimens  of  the  subjects  he  was 
accustomed  to  select.  The  work  of  the  crucified 
Redeemer,  remission  of  sins  through  his  blood,  the 
duty  of  faith,  that  of  repentance,  the  new  life,  com- 
munion with  God,  Christian  courage.  Christian  work, 
Christian  giving,  the  life  to  come — these  and  such  as 
these  were  his  favorite  topics  for  pulpit  discussion  ; 
and  in  some  way  or  other  he  succeeded  in  investing 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS.  XXIX 

them  with  such  interest  and  freshness  that  his  hearers 
never  betrayed  drowsiness  or  impatience.  In  his 
closing  sermon  he  records  it  as  one  of  the  grateful 
experiences  of  his  pastorate  that  he  had  "  found  the 
people  ever  ready  to  come  and  listen  to  the  plain, 
simple  Gospel." 

His  discourses  were  constructed  with  immediate 
reference  to  practical  results.  The  doctrinal  content 
of  his  text  was  usually  unfolded  in  clear  statement  at 
the  outset,  argument  when  it  seemed  necessary  was 
employed,  and  illustration  still  more  freely  ;  but  he 
never  appeared  to  be  fairly  under  way  with  his  sermon 
until  his  logic  was  on  fire.  By  some  his  ardor  and 
vehemence  were  regarded  as  extreme.  They  were, 
however,  the  natural  expression  of  his  earnestness 
and  depth  of  conviction.  In  his  personal  tastes  he 
was  by  no  means  averse  to  the  quieter  and  more 
meditative  manner  which  some  employ  so  effectually 
in  their  pulpit  ministrations,  whose  speech  distils  as 
the  dew  and  drops  as  the  small  rain  upon  the  tender 
herb  ;  but  this  was  not  the  style  of  discourse  for 
which  nature  had  fitted  him.  It  was  his  special  gift 
rather  to  arouse  and  incite,  to  quicken  the  con- 
science, rebuke  indifference,  and  stimulate  to  immedi- 
ate spiritual  activity.  He  wished  to  have  people  go 
from  his  church,  he  said,  not  soothed  and  self-satis- 
fied, but  with  the  deepened  consciousness  that  their 
lives  were  far  below  the  proper  standard,  and  with  the 
resolution  to  double  their  diligence  for  the  future  in 
pressing  toward  the  mark. 

In  the  style  of  his  discourses  he  was  careful  to 
avail  himself  of  the  language  of  common  life,  exclud- 
ing as  far  as  might  be  technical  and  scholastic  terms. 


XXX  MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS. 

His  sentences  were  simple  in  their  construction, 
direct,  not  weighted  with  explanatory  or  restrictive 
clauses.  He  kept  them  straight  like  arrows  that  they 
might  the  more  readily  reach  the  mark.  Such  quali- 
fying phrases  as  strict  accuracy  might  seem  to  re- 
quire, and  as  he  would  have  employed  if  writing  for 
the  press,  he  introduced  but  sparingly.  He  had 
a  thorough  hatred  of  certain  forms  of  prevailing 
wickedness,  and  answering  to  the  strength  of  his 
feeling  was  the  strength  of  his  expression,  border- 
ing at  times  on  paradox  and  hyperbole.  He  was 
convinced  that  the  portion  of  the  impenitent  and  un- 
believing is  death,  and  he  so  asserted  in  terms  that 
could  not  be  misunderstood  ;  willing  to  be  thought 
harsh  and  dogmatic  rather  than  to  be  found  unfaith- 
ful to  his  trust.  He  was  resolved  that  he  would 
announce  no  doctrine  of  the  Bible  in  an  apologizing 
or  compromising  way.  "  Let  the  Gospel  be  preached," 
he  said  in  a  published  address,  "just  as  it  is,  and  woe 
to  that  man  who  trims  or  temporizes  for  the  sake  of 
an  ephemeral  popularity." 

His  power  in  the  pulpit  was  widely  recognized 
while  he  was  comparatively  young  in  the  ministry, 
and  his  increasing  reputation  was  attended,  very 
naturally,  with  increasing  labor.  His  services  were 
in  great  demand  for  special  occasions,  the  dedication 
of  churches,  the  ordination  of  ministers,  the  opening 
of  Presbyteries,  commemorative  and  historical  ad- 
dresses. To  the  invitations  which  he  received  from 
far  and  near  he  generously  responded  to  the  limit  of 
his  ability.  The  number  of  special  sermons  and 
lectures  which  he  sometimes  delivered  in  the  course 
of    the   year    is   surprising    when   we   bear   in    mind 


MEMOIR    BV    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS.  XXXI 

the  amount  of  work  which  was  regularly  devolved 
upon  him  in  the  professorship  and  the  pastorate. 
During  the  years  of  the  war  his  voice  was  often 
heard  not  only  in  the  pulpit  but  on  the  platform  in 
city  and  country,  urging  to  loyalty  and  self-sacrifice 
in  support  of  the  government.  It  was  in  this  cause, 
shortly  after  he  had  begun  preaching  in  the  Sixth 
Church,  that  he  first  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
public  as  a  popular  lecturer.  A  lecture  on  *'  The 
Times,"  or  the  crisis  of  the  nation,  which  he  de- 
livered in  his  own  church  on  November  20,  1862, 
produced  such  an  impression  that  he  was  at  once 
requested  by  leading  citizens  to  repeat  it  in  one  of 
the  halls  of  the  city,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Subsistence 
Committee.  The  vigor  with  which  he  assailed  the 
enemies  of  the  government  and  their  sympathizers, 
and  defended  the  policy  of  emancipation,  is  described 
in  glowing  terms  by  the  city  press  of  that  date. 
From  this  time  forward  his  services  as  a  patriotic 
speaker  were  in  frequent  demand.  One  of  the  most 
characteristic  of  his  addresses  was  that  which  he 
delivered  before  the  Ladies'  Loyal  League  of  Pitts- 
burgh on  the  27th  of  December,  1864.  A  few  sen- 
tences may  be  quoted  as  a  specimen  :  "■  We  are  far, 
far  below  an  adequate  appreciation  of  the  epoch  in 
which  we  live.  We  are  making  history  which  the 
latest  ages  will  read  with  wonder  and  study  with  profit. 
Providence  is  crowding  into  years  revolutions  which 
it  formerly  required  centuries  to  accomplish.  Swift 
and  unerring  as  the  arrow  from  the  string  ideas  and 
events  rush  onward.  Mighty  potencies  are  at  work 
in  the  seething  crucible  of  the  nation's  trial.  The 
dross  is  being  thrown  rapidly  off.     New  elements  are 


XXXll        MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.  H.  JEFFERS. 

seeking  new  affinities  and  crystallizing  into  new  forms 
and  combinations.  Everywhere  there  is  quickened 
thought,  deepened  feeUng,  intensified  action.  God 
WORKS.  Who  at  such  a  time,  in  such  a  cause,  and  for 
such  interests  would  be  idle,  listless,  indifferent  ? 
God  has  put  within  the  reach  of  everyone  the  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  something.  Your  hands  can  war  and 
your  fingers  can  fight f  When  the  fearful  struggle  is 
over,  when  the  awful  crisis  is  past,  when  white-winged 
peace  broods  over  a  land  renovated  and  purified  by  the 
fires  through  which  it  has  gone  ;  sharp,  poignant  as 
the  tooth  of  remorse  will  be  the  regret  of  those  who 
failed  by  effort,  by  offering,  by  self-denial,  by  sacrifice, 
to  do  everything  in  their  power  to  aid  and  fortify  the 
good  cause." 

It  was  at  a  later  period,  and  in  the  discussion  of 
subjects  connected  more  immediately  with  the  work 
of  his  profession,  that  he  achieved  his  highest  distinc- 
tion as  a  platform  speaker.  In  1872  he  was  invited 
to  take  a  leading  part  in  the  Tercentenary  celebration 
in  Philadelphia,  commemorative  of  the  work  of  John 
Knox  in  Scotland,  of  the  organization  of  the  first 
Presbytery  in  England,  and  of  the  martyrdoms  of  St. 
Bartholomew's  day  in  France.  In  view  of  his  famil- 
iarity with  the  history  of  the  Reformation,  and  his 
recognized  ability  as  an  orator,  he  was  requested  to 
prepare  the  Memorial  Discourse  on  the  Life  and  Times 
of  John  Knox.  A  more  congenial  subject  could  not 
have  been  assigned  him.  Such  was  the  impression 
which  his  discourse  produced,  when  delivered  on  the 
20th  of  November  before  the  great  congregation 
which  thronged  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church,  that 
there  was  a  general  desire  expressed  that  it  should  be 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS.      XXXlll 

repeated  at  some  convenient  time  in  the  Academy  of 
Music.  He  complied  with  the  request  on  the  2 2d  of 
January,  and  was  greeted  with  an  audience  of  four 
thousand  persons,  occupying  every  seat  in  the  build- 
ing, at  least  as  many  more,  it  was  estimated,  having 
been  unable  to  gain  admission.  The  oration,  slightly 
modified  as  the  occasion  might  require,  was  delivered 
subsequently  one  hundred  times  as  a  popular  lecture. 

In  1874  he  was  called  to  preside  as  Moderator  over 
the  General  Assembly  at  St.  Louis,  an  honor  which 
came  to  him  wholly  unsought,  and  which  indicated 
the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  church  at 
large.  The  sermon  with  which  he  opened  the 
Assembly  at  Cleveland  the  year  following  was  on  a 
subject  which  lay  near  to  his  heart,  and  on  which  he 
never  spoke  but  with  kindling  emotion — the  mission- 
ary purpose  of  the  Church's  organization  and  her  duty 
to  give  the  Gospel  to  the  world.  It  has  been  regarded 
as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  effective  of  his  dis- 
courses.'^ 

In  accordance  with  an  appointment  which  he  re- 
ceived from  this  Assembly,  he  took  part  as  a  delegate 
in  the  conference,  which  was  held  in  London  in  July, 
1875,  for  the  purpose  of  maturing  a  plan  for  the  con- 
federation of  the  Presbyterian  churches  throughout 
the  world.  The  deliberations  of  this  conference  re- 
sulted in  the  organization  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance, 
with  its  General  Councils  to  be  held  "  ordinarily  once 
in  three  years."  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  of 
these  Councils,  which  met  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
July  3,  1877.  In  the  second,  convened  in  Philadel- 
phia in  September,  1880,  he  read  a  paper  on  the  Dis- 
tinctive Principles  of  Presbyterianism,  in  which  he 
*  See  page  201. — Eds, 


XXXIV      MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS. 

Stated  and  defended  with  characteristic  clearness  and 
emphasis  the  pohty  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  under  appointment  as 
delegate  to  the  third  General  Council,  held  in  Belfast 
in  1884.  He  was  also  at  the  time  Moderator  of  the 
Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  having  been  elected  to  that 
office  at  the  meeting  in  Harrisburg  in  1882. 

It  would  not  be  in  place  in  a  sketch  of  this  kind  to 
refer  in  detail  to  the  various  departments  of  Christian 
enterprise  to  which  he  lent  his  influence.  His  sym- 
pathy with  the  cause  of  liberal  education  was  natural 
in  view  of  his  work  in  the  Seminary.  He  was  a  warm 
friend  of  the  colleges  in  which  the  Seminary  students 
received  their  classical  training,  and  was  frequently 
invited  to  deliver  literary  and  missionary  addresses 
before  their  societies.  The  last  duty  which  called 
him  from  his  home  previous  to  his  death  was  that  of 
delivering  an  address  at  the  commencement  of  Hamil- 
ton  College,  New  York.  He  was  specially  attached 
to  his  own  Alma  Mater  at  Washington,  and  of  course 
deeply  interested  in  the  plan  by  which  the  two  col- 
leges, Washington  and  Jefferson,  were  made  one.  At 
the  time  when  the  consolidation  was  effected,  in  the 
spring  of  1869,  he  was  requested  by  the  Board  to 
become  the  acting  president  of  the  Institution  until 
the  office  could  be  filled  permanently.  His  fitness  for 
college-work,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  been  tested 
already.  We  can  well  believe  that  he  entered  upon 
the  unaccustomed  duties  of  the  presidency  with  less 
apprehension  than  he  had  felt  seventeen  years  before 
when  undertaking  the  work  of  classical  instruction. 
Many  of  the  friends  of  the  institution  hoped  that  the 
temporary  relation  would    be  made  permanent,  but 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS.        XXXV 

though  he  was  profoundly  interested  in  the  prosperity 
of  the  college,  now  entering  upon  a  new  career  of 
usefulness,  he  entertained  no  thought  of  withdrawing 
from  the  Seminary. 

During  the  last  year  of  Dr.  Wilson's  life  his  health 
seemed  fairly  vigorous,  and  he  was  able  to  complete 
the  laborious  duties  attending  the  close  of  the  session 
with  less  exhaustion  than  usual.  The  pleasant  recog- 
nition of  his  services  which  surprised  him  at  the  close 
of  the  term  in  the  spring  of  1883  has  already  been 
mentioned.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  his  health 
became  perceptibly  impaired,  but  not  to  such  an  ex- 
tent as  to  occasion  much  solicitude  on  his  part  until 
the  middle  of  July.  Although  his  appearance  alarmed 
his  friends,  with  characteristic  energy  he  persisted  in 
the  discharge  of  his  daily  duties.  Growing  interested 
in  athletics  at  Sewickley,  he  became  a  member  of  the 
association  and  indulged  now  and  then  in  games  of 
bowling,  excelling  in  this  as  he  had  years  before  in 
quoits.  Sabbath,  July  15,  he  preached  twice  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  with  great  earnestness  ;  in  the 
morning  on  "  The  Manliness  of  Faith,"  and  in  the 
evening  on  "  The  Charge  of  David  to  Solomon."  The 
death,  the  next  day,  of  Dr.  Hornblower,  his  intimate 
friend  and  associate  in  the  Faculty,  deeply  affected 
him  ;  he  was  compelled  to  give  over  his  part  in  the 
funeral  service  to  others,  undertaking  nothing  but  to 
pronounce  the  benediction.  This  was  the  last  time 
his  voice  was  heard  in  public.  Three  days  later  he 
was  unable  to  leave  his  room  in  Sewickley.  The  dis- 
ease which  had  been  preying  on  his  system  was  pro- 
nounced by  his  physician  to  be  typhoid  fever,  and 
before  it  had  run  its  course  his  strength  and  vitality 


XXXVl      MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS. 

were  exhausted.  When  during  his  illness  he  was 
reminded  that  he  had  often  said,  ''  I  would  rather 
wear  out  than  rust  out,"  he  acknowledged  that  he  had 
carried  this  too  far.  '^  Nature  is  only  taking  her  re- 
venge." Toward  the  last,  in  answer  to  the  tender 
question  of  those  at  his  bedside  whether  he  wanted 
anything,  he  whispered,  "  Rest  !  "  And  when  further 
asked  if  he  were  at  peace,  he  replied  with  peculiar 
distinctness,  "  Perfect  peace  !  "  On  Friday  morning, 
the  17th  of  August,  at  half  past  ten,  he  fell  asleep. 

A  funeral  service  was  held  in  Sewickley,  Sabbath 
evening,  which  was  largely  attended  and  was  pecul- 
iarly impressive.  But  the  main  service  was  at  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  on  Monday 
morning.  The  immense  edifice  was  filled  with  minis- 
ters and  laymen  of  all  denominations.  Lawyers, 
judges,  physicians,  and  merchants  were  there  to  show 
the  respect  in  which  Dr.  Wilson  was  held  and  to  do 
honor  to  his  memory.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Allison  pre- 
sided. The  addresses  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brownson  and 
the  Rev.  S.  F.  Scovel,  delivered  with  touching  emotion, 
were  worthy  tributes  to  the  great  qualities  of  mind 
and  heart  which  marked  the  life  of  the  man  whom 
they  sought  to  reverence. 

Dr.  Wilson  was  married  in  1859  to  Mary  Elizabeth 
Davis,  a  woman  of  fine  spirit  and  lovely  character,  a 
favorite  with  all  who  knew  her.  She  died  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1880  after  a  prolonged  illness,  leaving  a  son, 
Robert  Davis,  and  two  daughters,  Eliza  Cochran,  now 
Mrs.  Charles  McKnight,  and  Jane  Dill,  now  Mrs. 
William  Walker.  The  son  was  a  member  of  the 
Pittsburgh  bar,  with  unusually  bright  prospects  of 
success  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1890, 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS.     XXXVll 

This  memoir  of  Dr.  Wilson  would  be  very  incom- 
plete if  a  few  words  were  not  added  in  regard  to  his 
more  private  character,  as  known  to  his  intimate 
friends  and  associates. 

He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  sincerity. 
He  had  a  profound  dislike  for  pretence  and  simula- 
tion in  all  their  forms.  This  was  not  shown  in  any 
sweeping  denunciation  of  the  shams  which  are  preva- 
lent in  society,  but  rather  in  the  scrupulous  care  with 
which  he  regulated  his  own  speech  and  deportment. 
In  his  salutations  and  social  intercourse  his  words 
could  be  taken  at  their  par  value.  They  were  valid 
always  for  at  least  as  much  as  they  seemed  to  express. 
He  was  a  stranger  to  the  little  devices  by  which  many 
well-meaning  persons  solicit  the  good  will  and  attach- 
ment of  others,  the  employment  of  smiles  and  com- 
pliments as  a  means  for  the  accomplishment  of  an 
end.  In  his  manner  he  was  singularly  undemon- 
strative. Some  thought  him  on  this  account  distant 
and  cold  ;  but  it  was  his  strong  recoil  from  the 
insincerities  which  are  prevalent  in  social  life,  carry- 
ing him,  perhaps,  to  the  other  extreme.  His  real 
regard  for  his  friends  was  greatly  beyond  that  which 
he  would  ordinarily  indicate  in  his  greetings,  or  ex- 
press in  their  presence.  They  were  often  indeed  sur- 
prised to  learn,  through  other  channels,  of  the  thor- 
ough confidence  he  reposed  in  them  and  the  deep 
interest  he  felt  in  their  welfare.  The  more  intimately 
men  came  to  know  him,  the  more  deeply  were  the}'' 
impressed  with  the  entire  genuineness,  "  the  simplicity 
and  godly  sincerity  "  of  his  character. 

He  was  kindly  and  charitable  in  his  judgment  of 
men.     He  had  a  keen  perception  of  character,  never 


XXXVlll     MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.  H.  JEFFERS. 

failing,  however,  to  discern  the  good  qualities  as  well 
as  the  frailties  of  those  with  whom  he  was  thrown  in 
contact.  Nowhere  was  this  more  apparent  than  in 
his  intercourse  with  the  students  of  the  Seminary. 
While  the  members  of  his  classes  often  felt  under  his 
glance  that  they  were  searched  through  and  through, 
there  was  at  the  same  time  that  in  his  manner  which 
encouraged  them  to  believe  that  he  gave  them  credit 
for  honesty  of  purpose  and  endeavor,  and  that  he  had 
faith  in  their  ultimate  success.  His  criticisms  were 
thorough,  but  always  kindly  and  helpful.  There 
was  no  mistaking  the  motive  by  which  they  were 
prompted.  They  left  no  sting  behind,  even  when  at 
the  moment  they  may  have  been  regarded  as  severe. 

His  sympathy  flowed  out  spontaneously  toward 
those  who,  in  want  of  means,  were  struggling  to  work 
their  way  through  the  course.  Many  who  are  now 
laboring  successfully  in  the  ministry  have  reason  to 
remember  the  kindly  assistance  they  received  from 
him  in  their  time  of  need,  and  no  less  the  tact  and 
delicacy  with  which  this  was  extended.  Contributions 
were  often  entrusted  to  him  by  benevolent  persons 
to  be  used  at  his  discretion  in  connection  with  the 
Scholarship  Fund  of  the  Seminary.  He  esteemed  it 
one  of  his  highest  privileges  to  employ  such  gifts  in 
relieving  worthy  young  men  of  their  discouragement, 
and  in  helping  them  to  enter  the  ministry  without  a 
burden  of  debt. 

Another  quality  which  he  possessed  in  a  singular 
degree  was  that  of  self-control  ;  perhaps  one  should 
rather  say,  self-mastery.  Body  and  mind  seemed  to 
be  alike  the  ready  servants  of  his  will.  The  physical 
constitution  which  nature  had  given  him  was  not  the 


MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.  JEFFERS.      XXXIX 

most  vigorous.     Few  who  observed  his  slender  form 
and  pale  face  while  a  student  in  college  would  have 
anticipated  for  him  a  long  life.     Some  were  appre- 
hensive that  he  might  not  live  to  enter  upon  the  work 
of  his  profession.     But  through  the  self-control  and 
systematic  care  which  he  exercised,  his  health  became 
quite  firm,  and  his  vigor  seemed  to  be  increasing  with 
his  advancing  years.     His  mental  powers  were  inured 
to  severe  labor  and  held  to  a  strict  accountability.     It 
was  a  principle  with  him  that  everything  must  be  done 
thoroughly  and  finished  at   the  proper  time.      Con- 
scious, like  most  men  of  his  temperament,  of  a  natural 
tendency  to  procrastinate,  he  kept  his  work  quite  in 
advance.       He  would    counteract    the    tendency    by 
going  almost  to  the  opposite  extreme.     So  in  meeting 
his  engagements  he  was  accustomed  to  hold  an  ample 
margin   of   time   in  reserve.      It    was  observed   that 
during  his  entire  ministry  in  the  Sixth  Church  he  was 
late  in  entering  the  pulpit  only  once,  and  then  after 
a  journey  of  fifteen   miles  over  wintry   roads.      He 
would  allow  himself  to  shrink  from  no  work  that  was 
devolved  upon  him  because  uncongenial  or  distasteful. 
His  tastes  and  emotions  as  well  as  his  intellectual 
powers   seemed   to  be  kept    under   strict  discipline. 
He  was  no  Stoic  when  sorrow  and  bereavement  came, 
yet  he  maintained  for  the  most  part  an  outward  calm, 
even  when  the  inward  storm  of  grief  was  at  its  height. 
He  would  not  allow  himself  to  appear,  even   for  a 
moment,  to  have  forgotten  the  inspiring  and  sublime 
truths  which  he  had  preached  for  the  consolation  of 
others. 

He  was  eminently  a  man  of  God.     What  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do,  was  the  question  he  had  asked  with  all 


Xl  MEMOIR    BY    PROFESSOR    W.   H.   JEFFERS. 

the  earnestness  of  his  nature  at  the  time  when  the 
gracious  call  came,  and  the  heavenly  light  shone 
about  him  ;  and  he  seemed  never  to  be  forgetful  of 
the  obligation  he  had  then  assumed.  His  life  was 
effective  and  fruitful  because  his  devotion  was  deep 
and  fervent.  The  things  of  the  spiritual  world  were 
to  his  conception  intensely  real.  When  meditating 
on  these  it  was  not  as  if  he  had  climbed  up  to  some 
unusual  elevation  and  was  panting  in  the  thin  atmos- 
phere of  the  mountain  summit,  but  rather  as  if  he  was 
looking  out  from  his  accustomed  point  of  view  and 
breathing  his  native  air.  His  spirituality  was  duly 
nourished  by  meditation  and  devotional  reading. 
Next  to  the  Word  of  God  his  favorite  selections  for 
this  purpose  were  from  the  older  Scottish  and  Eng- 
lish divines,  those  whose  writings  evinced  the  deepest 
Christian  experience  and  the  most  vivid  sense  of  the 
divine  presence  and  love.  The  writings  of  Samuel 
Rutherford  occupied  perhaps  the  first  place  in  his 
esteem.  To  his  letters,  especially,  he  would  turn 
again  and  again,  as  presenting  the  thoughts  and 
aspirations  of  a  thoroughly  congenial  spirit,  often 
re-reading  or  recalling  a  favorite  passage  on  Sabbath 
morning  in  connection  with  his  immediate  preparation 
for  the  pulpit.  Yet  he  was  by  nature  no  recluse  or 
ascetic  ;  his  piety,  as  we  have  seen,  was  of  the  most 
active  and  practical  type.  It  was  in  the  closet  that 
he  received  his  baptism  of  power.  He  sought  to  live 
in  habitual  communion  with  God,  as  if  in  the  very 
pavilion  of  his  presence  ;  and  hence  the  power  and 
far-reaching  influence  of  his  consecrated  life. 


TRIBUTES. 


From  an  editorial  in  the  Pittsburgh  Commercial  Gazette. 

"  The  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Wilson,  D.  D.,  senior  pro- 
fessor in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  was  one  of 
the  best  theologians  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
his  demise  in  the  zenith  of  his  intellectual  power  and 
in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness  will  be  severely  felt  and 
widely  lamented.  He  was  pure  and  spotless  in  his 
private  life,  and  an  earnest  and  devoted  teacher  of 
the  doctrines  of  Christianity." 

From  an  editorial  in  the  Interior. 

''  Dr.  Wilson  ranked  among  the  finest  orators  and 
ablest  men  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  teacher's  chair. 
He  was  symmetrical  in  mind  and  character,  and  of 
bright  and  agreeable  presence.  With  all  his  intel- 
lectual strength  and  his  scholarship,  he  combined 
tender  sympathies  and  an  easily  stirred  emotional 
nature.  Human,  humane,  brilliant  in  talents,  modest, 
and  devoted,  the  Church  has  met  with  a  loss  of  the 
first  magnitude  in  his  untimely  death." 

The  Rev.  Henry  C.  Minton    D,  D.,  in  the  Presbyterian  Banner. 

"  His  career  was  unique.  His  life  was  an  inspiration 
and  an  object  lesson.  It  grandly  illustrated  not  only 
his  own  force  of  character,  but  the  force  of  the  prin- 


Xlii  TRIBUTES. 

ciples  he  held.  His  loyalty  to  truth,  blended  with 
charity  for  error,  furnishes  a  lesson  we  all  need  to 
learn.  His  students  and  friends  can  never  forget  his 
impressive  simplicity  of  character." 

From  the  New  York  Observe^'. 

"  Dr.  Wilson  was  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  distin- 
guished ministers  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  His 
public  addresses  were  characterized  by  great  learning 
and  argumentative  power.  As  a  professor  his  great 
characteristic  was  luminous  clearness  ;  as  a  man, 
transparent  sincerity^  and  singleness  of  heart.  His 
students  were  devoted  to  him,  and  there  will  be 
unfeigned  sorrow  at  his  death  in  every  continent  of 
the  globe,  among  the  many  graduates  of  the  Seminary 
who  have  enjoyed  his  teaching." 

From  an  editorial  in  the  Pittsburgh  Leader. 

*'  Professor  Wilson  was  in  the  prime  of  his  intel- 
lectual manhood,  was  capable  to  an  extraordinary 
degree  of  inciting  that  enthusiasm  in  young  men, 
without  which  all  teaching  is  vain,  and  was  probably 
held  in  more  affectionate  esteem  than  any  divine  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  West.  He  was,  it  is 
safe  to  say,  one  of  the  most  popular  platform  speakers 
in  the  United  States,  and  before  and  during  the  war 
he  distinguished  himself  by  his  patriotic  addresses  to 
soldiers  and  sailors,  and  his  death  is  a  public  loss." 

From  an  editorial  in  the  Preshytefian. 

"  The  worth  of  Dr.  Wilson,  his  great  acquisitions, 
and  his  rare  excellence  of  character  made  him  widely 
known  not  only  throughout  the  Presbyterian  Church, 


TRIBUTES.  Xliii 

but  to  many  outside  of  its  pale.  A  thoroughly  modest 
man,  he  never  thrust  himself  upon  the  notice  of  the 
Church,  and  only  his  great  merit  and  his  abundant 
labors  drew  to  him  the  attention  of  all.  His  departure 
is  a  sad  loss  to  the  whole  Church.  There  is  no  man 
in  the  denomination  who  held  the  confidence  of  the 
people  more  fully,  and  to  whom,  in  any  contest  for 
the  orthodox  faith,  more  eyes  would  have  turned  as 
unto  a  leader  and  guide." 

From  an  editorial  in  the  New  York  Evangelist. 

"  That  the  death  of  Dr.  Wilson  has  occasioned  great 
sorrow  throughout  the  wide  circle  of  his  personal 
acquaintance  is  a  matter  of  course  :  for  he  was  pos- 
sessed of  qualities  to  call  out  warm  friendship.  And 
to  a  yet  larger  number  who,  though  not  intimate  with 
him,  yet  recognized  his  excellence  and  devotion  as 
a  preacher  and  trainer  of  ministers,  the  sad  event  will 
be  long  remembered.  The  Church  at  large  experi- 
ences a  heavy  loss  in  this  sudden  striking  down  of 
one  who  stood  in  the  front  ranks  of  her  ministry,  and 
was  an  habitual  bearer  of  heavy  cares  and  burdens. 
Dr.  Wilson  loved  the  truth,  and  the.  brotherhood 
which  he  believed  to  be  its  best  embodiment.  Thus 
his  duties  were  congenial,  and  the  Church  has  profited 
by  all  the  mind  and  strength  of  a  true  son." 

From  the  Pittsburgh  Chronicle. 

''In his  public  addresses  Dr.  Wilson  showed  himself 
a  man  of  great  earnestness  and  force,  and  his  popu- 
larity as  a  speaker  can  best  be  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that    his    lecture    on    John  Knox    made  so   great  an 


Xliv  TRIBUTES. 

impression  that  he  was  invited  to  deliver  it  over  and 
over  again.  Naturally,  after  obliging  his  friends 
about  a  hundred  times,  he  had  earned  the  right  to 
decline  any  further  invitations  to  this  end.  Dr.  Wil- 
son made  some  splendid  speeches  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  ;  speeches  which 
vibrated  with  life  and  energy,  and  devotion  to  the 
Union,  and  which  roused  the  spirit  of  the  people  of 
Western  Pennsylvania,  as  but  few  other  efforts  at 
the  time  could  do.  His  learning,  sagacity,  integrity, 
and  charity  made  him  a  counsellor  in  church  affairs 
of  unapproachable  value." 

The  Rev.  Daniel  W.   Fisher,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  President  of   Han- 
over College,  in  the  Herald  and  Presbyter. 

"  Professor  Wilson  profoundly  impressed  himself 
upon  his  students.  He  did  this  in  part  by  virtue 
of  unquestionable  superiority  of  intellectual  gifts, 
scholarship,  and  piety.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  with 
these  qualities  as  a  basis,  the  main  secret  of  his 
influence  over  his  pupils  was  his  royal  manliness. 
Intense  by  natural  disposition,  he  threw  the  whole 
fervor  of  his  being  in  the  direction  of  that  which  is 
unselfish  and  noble.  There  are  people  in  our  day 
who  think  of  orthodox  Christianity  and  vital  piety 
as  savoring  of  that  which  is  weak  and  sentimental. 
The  best  antidote  for  these  wrong  notions  would  be 
to  know  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Wilson.  To  his  faith  he 
added  virtue,  in  the  true  Christian  sense  of  the 
word — strength  married  to  gentleness  and  humility. 
To  this  quality  he  also  was  largely  indebted  for  much 
of  the  tremendous  power  which  he  often  wielded  in 
his  sermons  and  public  addresses." 


TRIBUTES.  Xlv 

The  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Niccolls,  D.  D.,  I.L.  D.,  in  an  address  to  tlie 
students  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary. 

"  What  a  rare  man  Dr.  Wilson  was  !  He  resembled 
a  mountain  lake,  silent  in  its  power  and  fulness,  never 
moaning  or  clamorous  like  the  sea  ;  pure,  cool,  trans- 
parent, lying  indeed  in  the  earth,  yet  mirroring  so 
much  of  heaven.  He  was  tender  and  gentle  as  a 
woman,  yet  with  inflexible  firmness  of  principle  and 
conviction.  His  consecration  to  his  work  burnt  like 
a  constant  fire  within  him. 

''  Eloquent  in  speech,  a  master  in  the  arts  of 
homiletics,  ripe  in  scholarship,  and,  above  all,  rich  in 
the  experience  of  grace,  he  was  as  well  qualified  for 
the  pastoral  office  as  for  the  professor's  chair.  We 
can  all  give  his  memory  the  tribute  of  our  tears  ;  but 
to  me  there  comes  a  feeling  of  loss  and  loneliness,  as 
I  walk  these  halls,  which  I  cannot  cast  aside. 

"  *  He  passed  ;  a  soul  of  nobler  tone  ; 

My  spirit  loved,  and  loves  him  yet, 
Like  some  poor  girl  whose  heart  is  set 
On  one  whose  rank  exceeds  her  own.' " 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  officers  of  the  Fourteenth  Regiment, 
N.  G.  P. 

*'  Whereas,  Chaplain  S.  J.  Wilson  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  Fourteenth  Regiment  since  December, 
1875,  ^"^  t)y  his  courteous  and  Christian  example 
has  endeared  himself  to  every  member  of  the  organiza- 
tion and  set  an  example  worthy  of  emulation,  there- 
fore be  it 

^^ Resolved,  That  in  the  sudden  and  unexpected  death 
of  our  chaplain  we  mourn  and  feel  that  we  have  lost 


Xlvi  TRIBUTES. 

an  earnest  and  sincere  friend  and  spiritual  adviser, 
and  a  consistent  worker  among  the  members  of  tiie 
regiment.  That  we  bow  with  submission  to  the  will 
of  Him  who  does  all  things  right,  knowing  that  if 
we  live  the  life  that  he  did  we  shall  all  meet  when 
the  final  roll  is  called  across  the  river  ;  and  be  it 
further 

"  Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  recorded  in  the 
adjutant's  record  of  the  regiment  and  a  copy  be  sent 
to  the  family  of  our  dearly  beloved  chaplain.  Further, 
that  we  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty 
days,  and  that  the  officers  attend  the  funeral  in  a 
body." 

From  an  editorial  in  the  Pittsburgh  Times. 

"  In  the  death  of  Professor  S.  J.  Wilson  the  age  loses 
a  man  whose  place  cannot  be  refilled  perhaps  during 
the  present  generation.  While  consistent  in  every- 
thing he  advocated,  whether  of  a  secular  or  spiritual 
nature,  his  forcible  utterances  were  always  straight  to 
the  point  and  were  calculated  to  sway  the  actions  of 
men  who  were  not  easily  led  by  another's  eloquence. 
As  a  minister  he  was  eminently  practical  in  all  he 
advised,  and  was  singularly  free  from  any  suspicion 
of  the  'bunkums'  that  too  often  detract  from  the 
influence  of  otherwise  worthy  divines.  This  straight- 
forward principle  he  carried  into  his  sermons,  and 
they  were  as  practical  in  their  aims  as  any  of  the 
secular  enterprises  engaged  in  by  a  successful 
merchant.  Professor  Wilson,  in  his  half  century  of  life, 
did  more  to  elevate  the  cause  of  religion  than  almost 
any  other  divine  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  while 
shedding  a  tear  at  his  too  early  departure  we  must 


TRIBUTES.  Xlvii 

admit  that  he  did  the  work  of  a  long  life   during  the 
limited  period  he  was  allowed  to  remain  on  earth." 

From  the  Minute  adopted  by  the  Presbytery  of  Pittsburgh. 

"This  Presbytery  is  profoundly  moved  by  the  utter- 
ances of  sister  Presbyteries  on  every  side  regarding 
the  character  and  work  of  our  beloved  co-Presbyter, 
Samuel  Jennings  Wilson.  While  it  is  not  possible 
that  such  a  man  can  be  the  exclusive  possession  of 
any  fraction  of  the  Church,  yet  next  to  his  family,  and 
to  the  beloved  pupils  who  were  brought  up  at  his  feet 
in  the  school  of  the  prophets,  this  Presbytery  feels 
itself  peculiarly  bereaved  in  his  demise. 

"  As  we  gather  here  to-day  it  is  with  unspeakable 
sadness  that  we  perceive  that  seat  vacated  which  was 
so  seldom  unoccupied  at  our  meetings  for  the  last 
twenty  years.  We  feel  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  join- 
ing our  testimony  with  that  of  others  as  to  our 
brother's  learning,  so  profound  and  varied  ;  as  to  his 
unreserved  consecration  to  Christ  of  all  his  gifts  and 
attainments  ;  his  unswerving  loyalty  to  the  doctrines 
and  polity  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  his  forceful 
eloquence  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  ;  and  his  in- 
valuable services  to  the  cause  of  Christian  education, 
both  in  promoting  the  prosperity  of  Washington  and 
Jefferson  College,  and  especially  in  subserving  the 
interests  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  to 
which  his  very  life  was  a  sacrifice. 

''  But  while  we  who  knew  Dr.  Wilson  most  intimately 
are  proud  to  testify  that  in  such  tributes  to  his  memory 
there  is  no  extravagant  eulogy,  we  desire  here  to 
emphasize  our  testimony  to  his  exemplary  character 
as  a  Presbyter.     Throughout  the  course  of  his  varied, 


Xlviii  TRIBUTES. 

arduous,  and  willing  labors,  he  by  no  means  subordi- 
nated his  duty  as  a  Presbyter,  but  made  it  co-ordinate 
with  the  exercise  of  the  other  functions  of  his  minis- 
try. As  an  inflexible  rule  in  his  place  at  the  organiz- 
ation of  Presbytery,  he  was  found  at  his  post  at  ad- 
journment. A  loving  son  with  filial  reverence  to  the 
fathers  in  the  ministry,  he  was  an  elder  brother  be- 
loved to  every  younger  minister;  yet  in  Presbytery 
the  people  were  ever  on  his  great  heart.  He  was  wont 
to  say,  'Brethren,  the  smallest  church  of  Christ  is 
greater  than  any  man  ! ' 

"  Clear  and  positive  in  his  conviction  of  principles 
and  methods  ;  earnest,  ringing,  and  fervent  in  debate  ; 
his  perfect  sincerity  and  unmistakable  deference  to 
the  feelings  and  judgments  of  others  won  and  kept 
the  affectionate  esteem  and  respect  of  those  who  most 
widely  differed  from  his  opinions.  While  his  multi- 
farious duties  might  seem  to  have  rendered  it  im- 
possible that  he  should  add  to  the  offices  of  professor, 
presbyter,  and  preacher  that  of  pastor,  the  truth  is 
that  for  fifteen  of  the  best  years  of  his  life  he  fed  and 
led  a  flock  of  Christ  in  green  pastures  and  by  the  still 
waters.  He  preached  with  marked  individuality — 
with  the  power  and  demonstration  of  the  Spirit.  At 
the  same  time  he  knew  his  flock.  He  lived  in  their 
joys  and  sorrows.  He  kept  accurate  trace  of  their 
temporal  affairs  and  spiritual  concerns.  He  habitu- 
ally analyzed  and  formed  a  definite  idea  of  the  char- 
acter of  each  member  and  adherent  of  the  Sixth 
Church,  Pittsburgh,  the  people  to  whom  he  gave  that 
special  work  for  the  Master  to  which  his  mother  dedi- 
cated him  in  infancy. 

"  Whether  in  the  sanctuary  feeding   the   flock   of 


TRIBUTES.  xHx 

God,  teaching  in  the  school  of  the  prophets,  or  sitting 
with  the  elders  of  Israel,  he  was  alike  eminently  use- 
ful to  the  Church." 

From  a  paper  adopted  by  the  Presbytery  of  Washington,  Pa. 

"  Some  men  are  great  by  the  position  in  which 
Providence  has  placed  them  ;  some  again  are  distin- 
guished by  the  gifts  of  fortune,  and  have  acquired 
fame  and  distinction  by  the  noble  use  of  the  means 
which  God  has  committed  to  their  stewardship. 
Others,  like  our  departed  friend,  are  endowed  with 
those  remarkable  intellectual  and  moral  qualities 
which,  in  their  combination,  always  compel  the  atten- 
tion of  men  ;  exerting  an  influence  and  commanding 
a  respect  which  is  not  limited  by  position  and  is  not 
dependent  upon  the  gifts  of  fortune.  This  kind  of 
greatness  belongs  to  the  man  and  not  to  his  place  ; 
it  is  individual  and  not  official ;  it  is  inherent  and  not 
reflected  from  place  or  circumstance.  It  is  a  great- 
ness which  is  not  exaggerated  by  distance,  but  is  felt 
the  more  as  we  approach  the  nearer. 

"  Dr.  Wilson  had  a  wonderful  facility  in  acquiring 
knowledge,  and  to  this  he  added  ready  eloquence  and 
quick  sagacity  in  seeing  the  true  bearing  of  questions 
which  required  an  unflinching  adherence  to  Script- 
ural principles,  and  conscientious  convictions  which 
no  gentleness  of  spirit,  or  influence  of  retiring  mod- 
esty, ever  brought  him  to  compromise  or  suppress. 

"He  was  equally  distinguished  for  his  resolution 
and  self-reliance.  Hence  it  was  that  from  his  very 
boyhood,  through  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  he  was 
so  eminently  a  self-made  man.  He  had  untiring 
enero^v — work  was  his  element.     He  was  never   idle, 


1  ■  TRIBUTES. 

and  while  life  lasted  he  worked.  Of  all  things  he 
loved  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the  free  and  glorious 
grace  of  God.  No  one  who  has  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  hear  him  can  ever  forget  the  grand  exhibitions 
of  truth  which  he  presented. 

''But  it  was  not  in  the  pulpit  only  that  Dr.  Wilson 
shone  ;  in  his  private  sphere  of  action  as  a  Christian 
his  virtues  were  not  less  distinguished  than  his  duties 
as  a  minister.  He  was  a  man  of  ardent  piety,  though 
he  was  not  forward  to  speak  of  his  religious  exer- 
cises. Deep  devotion  and  unaffected  humility 
entered  largely  into  this  part  of  his  character.  His 
nobility  of  mind  rendered  him  utterly  incapable  of 
performing  a  mean  or  selfish  act,  his  native  kind- 
ness of  disposition,  sweetened  still  more  by  grace, 
made  those  who  knew  him  trust  and  love  him,  bind- 
ing men  who  stood  in  nearest  relation  to  him  with 
the  strongest  bonds.  He  was  a  genial  companion, 
and,  in  his  hours  of  relaxation,  mingled  with  his 
chosen  friends  in  conversation  with  a  heartiness  that 
was  delightful.  He  was  a  firm  and  true  friend  as 
well  in  adversity  as  in  prosperity. 

"  He  was  a  remarkably  modest  man,  as  free  from 
arrogance  and  presumption,  as  humble  in  the  esti- 
mate of  his  own  importance,  as  one  can  be  well  con- 
ceived to  be  in  this  world  of  sin.  And  yet  he  was 
as  brave  a  man  as  ever  lived. 

"  He  was  a  successful  and  accomplished  professor 
in  the  Theological  Seminary.  He  was  a  thorough 
Presbyterian  in  his  views  of  doctrine  and  order.  He 
was  not  merely  acquainted  with  the  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  but  they  so  imbued  his  whole  train  of  thought 
that  they   came  forth  in  his   teaching  without  effort 


TRIBUTES. 


li 


or  labor  in  all  their  native  majesty  and  grace.  He 
united  in  his  own  person  a  remarkable  assemblage 
of  those  qualities  which  fit  a  man  for  discharging  his 
high  trust  as  a  professor  ;  he  possessed  in  a  high 
degree  the  dignity  that  commands  respect,  the 
accuracy  that  inspires  confidence,  the  ardor  that 
kindles  animation,  the  kindness  that  wins  affection. 

"  On  the  whole,  if  a  bright  intellect,  unaffected 
simplicity  of  manners,  stanch  integrity  of  heart,  un- 
swerving fidelity  in  friendship,  the  gentleness  of  the 
lamb,  and  the  boldness  of  the  lion, — and  all  these 
qualities  consecrated  by  a  piety  the  most  ardent  and 
sincere  on  the  high  altar  of  devotion, — have  any  claim 
to  respect,  the  memory  of  Dr.  S.  J.  Wilson  will  long 
be  cherished  with  tears  of  admiration  and  sorrow  by 
those  who  knew  him." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge  in  the  Presbyterian  Review. 

"  The  death  of  Rev.  Professor  Samuel  Jennings 
Wilson,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  of  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  Allegheny  City,  Pa.,  is  noticed  in  the 
editorial  pages  of  the  Presbyterian  Review  because 
he  was  from  the  beginning  one  of  its  most  honored 
and  influential  Associate  Editors.  The  undersigned 
is  entrusted  with  the  preparation  of  this  notice, 
because  he  was  for  thirteen  years  the  colleague  and 
intimate  friend  of  its  distinguished  subject. 

''  The  fact  that  Professor  Wilson  was  by  the  sponta- 
neous suffrages  of  his  peers  made  the  first  Moderator 
of  the  great  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  accurately  marks 
his  rank  in  the  entire  Christian  ministry  of  that 
immense  Commonwealth.  In  learning,  ability,  elo- 
quence,  and    influence   he   was  beyond   question   the 


In  TRIBUTES. 

most  eminent  Christian  minister  of  any  denomina- 
tion in  his  native  State.  And  it  is  a  coincidence  that 
will  not  be  forgotten  that  Pennsylvania's  greatest 
minister,  Samuel  Jennings  Wilson,  and  her  greatest 
lawyer,  Jeremiah  Black,  lay  awaiting  their  burial  at 
the  same  time. 

"  There  are  two  measures  of  a  man's  greatness  :  the 
one  to  be  determined  in  the  estimate  of  his  intrinsic 
qualities,  the  other  by  his  acquired  position  and  rela- 
tion to  the  community  of  which  he  is  a  part.  In  each 
of  these  Professor  Wilson's  claim  to  be  regarded  great 
is  valid. 

"  His  natural  faculties  were  of  a  high  order,  and 
they  were  earnestly  and  wisely  exercised  in  the  high- 
est uses  from  his  childhood.  He  possessed  capacity 
for  concentrated  and  sustained  attention,  a  retentive 
rnemory,  wide  and  clear  intellectual  vision,  accurate 
judgment,  vivid  and  fertile  imagination,  strong  affec- 
tions, burning  enthusiasm,  and  unparalleled  powers 
of  expression  by  word,  look,  and  gesture.  The 
foundation  laid  in  his  school  and  college  days  for 
his  future  scholarly  growth  was  accurate  and  broad. 
Afterward  he  continued  uninterruptedly  to  the  close 
of  his  laborious  life  a  constant  student  in  every 
branch  of  his  profession,  and  a  wide  general  reader. 
He  was  for  twenty-eight  years  tutor  and  Professor  of 
Sacred  and  Ecclesiastical  History  and  of  the  History 
of  Doctrines,  but  on  different  occasions  and  for  pro- 
tracted periods  he  also  discharged  the  duties  of  the 
professors  of  Hebrew  and  Old  Testament  Literature, 
of  New  Testament  Greek  and  Exegesis,  and  of  Sys- 
tematic Theology,  and  all  with  distinguished  success. 
His    thought    was   as    clear    as    light,    his   judgment 


TRIBUTES.  liil 

sound,  and  heart-pure  and  brave  and  as  true  as  steel. 
He  was  extraordinarily  grave  and  silent  in  his 
manner  ;  often,  in  the  company  of  his  colleagues  or 
in  his  family,  giving  for  long  passages  of  time  no 
other  sign  of  conscious  life  than  that  afforded  by  the 
following  of  his  watchful  eye.  But  under  that  ap- 
parently sleeping  surface  a  whole  teeming  world  of 
life  brooded,  and  sometimes  volcanic  fires  rolled. 
His  preaching,  as  the  many  thousand  hearers  of  his 
oration  on  John  Knox  will  testify,  and  as  the  majority 
of  the  churches  in  Western  Pennsylvania  and  Eastern 
Ohio  will  cherish  among  their  proudest  sectional 
traditions,  was  often  characterized  by  the  most  mov- 
ing and  overmastering  eloquence.  Often  in  the 
Seminary  prayer  meeting-  his  voice  broke  upon  us  like 
the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  he  at  once  lifted  up  the 
whole  service  to  a  higher  level  of  vision  and  devotion. 

"  The  true  greatness  of  a  man  rests  more  in  his  char- 
acter, especially  in  its  moral  elements,  than  in  his 
intellect  or  his  learning.  Professor  Wilson  in  this 
species  also  graded  among  the  very  highest  of  his 
generation.  He  was  unselfish,  pure,  absolutely  con- 
secrated to  his  chief  ends,  concentrated  in  purpose, 
of  strong  will,  of  strong  passions  held  in  restraint  and 
always  made  to  serve  reason  and  conscience.  Self- 
respectful  but  unambitious,  sympathetic  with  all  weak- 
ness and  suffering,  strong  as  a  lion,  tender  as  a 
woman,  true  and  honorable  as  a  knight  of  Christ, 

"  As  to  the  second  element  of  greatness  found  in  his 
position  and  his  relation  to  his  community,  Professor 
Wilson  must  be  estimated  as  occupying  an  even  yet 
higher  rank.  He  was  native  to  the  soil,  embodying 
in  finest  quality   and    proportions  the  characteristic 


liv  TRIBUTES. 

excellences  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry  and  or  the 
Western  Pennsylvanian  population.  He  was  truly 
representative  as  a  man,  and  as  a  Presbyterian  minis- 
ter, in  a  sense  and  to  a  degree  not  true  of  any  other 
man  of  his  generation.  His  grandfather,  Thomas 
Dill,  gave  his  whole  life  to  prayer  ;  visiting  in  turn  all 
the  sections  of  Western  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 
and  Eastern  Ohio,  seeking  the  conversion  of  souls 
and  the  revival  of  the  Church.  His  mother,  Jane 
Dill,  was  a  woman  of  great  force  of  character  and 
eminently  spiritual  and  devoted.  She  consecrated 
her  son  to  the  ministry  from  his  birth,  and  impressed 
her  own  character  and  purpose  upon  him  in  his 
infancy. 

"  On  the  occasion  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
his  entering  upon  his  professorship,  he  said  :  '  I  am 
glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of  saying  that  whatever 
I  am  is  due  to  my  mother.  I  would  rather  hear  it 
said  that  my  mother  was  Jane  Dill,  and  my  grand- 
father praying  Thomas  Dill,  than  to  hear  it  said  that 
my  mother  was  Queen  and  my  grandfather  Emperor.' 
He  struggled  to  gain  his  education,  but  went  up 
through  all  the  stages  first  in  each  class  from  the 
start.  He  became  teacher  in  every  school  in  which 
he  learned,  retaining  to  the  end  a  most  absolute 
identification  of  himself  and  his  interests  with  his 
scholars  and  his  schools,  and  of  the  section  of  the 
nation  out  of  which  these  grew.  His  roots  ran  out 
into  all  that  land  and  took  deep  and  wide  hold  of  the 
ground. 

'*  Every  student,  especially  every  struggling  student, 
was  taken  into  his  heart.  The  professor  appeared 
always   reticent  and  undemonstrative,  yet   no  honest 


TRIBUTES.  IV 

Student  ever  misread  the  man.  It  was  to  him  before 
any  of  his  colleagues  through  all  those  years  of  service 
that  the  student  needing  sympathy  went  ;  whether 
poor,  or  sick,  or  bereaved,  or  in  spiritual  darkness,  or 
in  need  of  counsel  for  his  future  course.  Once  lov- 
ing he  loved  forever,  for  greater  tenacity  of  fibre 
God  never  wrought  out  of  Scotch-Irish  or  Northman 
blood.  Thus  his  nearly  one  thousand  graduate^ 
remained  bound  to  his  heart  by  hoops  of  steel.  He 
prayed  for  them,  wept  with  them,  gloried  over  them, 
following  them  along  all  their  ways.  And  they  knew 
him  and  gloried  in  him  as  their  leader,  and  now  they 
weep  over  the  wide  world,  for  their  prince  is  dead. 

"  He  was  naturally  put  forward  as  the  representative 
of  his  section,  and  as  such  bore  all  the  honors  from 
his  immediate  constituents,  and  from  the  Church  as  a 
whole,  open  to  the  career  of  a  Presbyterian  minister. 
He  had  been  Moderator  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh, 
and  was  Moderator  of  the  great  Synod  of  Pennsyl- 
vania at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  Moderator  of 
the  General  Assembly  in  1874,  was  for  a  time  acting 
President  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  and 
would  have  been  so  always  if  he  had  not  preferred  to 
be  the  presiding  professor  of  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary.  He  represented  his  Church  in  the  pre- 
paratory meeting  in  London  in  1875,  and  in  the  Grand 
Council  in  Philadelphia  in  1880.  He  was  the  orator 
always  spontaneously  chosen  to  represent  his  de- 
nomination as  a  whole  on  its  grandest  occasions,  as 
upon  the  Tercentenary  Anniversary  of  Presbyterian- 
ism,  A.  D.  1872,  in  Philadelphia,  and  his  own  more 
immediate  circle,  as  at  the  funerals  of  men  so  pre- 
eminent  in    his    section    as   the    Rev.  Dr.  Elisha    P. 


Ivi  TRIBUTES. 

Swift  and  Rev.  Dr.  C.  C.  Beatty.  And  if  he  had  con- 
tinued in  his  place  for  a  century,  all  the  elements  of 
power,  and  all  the  tributes  of  love  and  honor  from 
a  wide  constituency,  would  more  and  more  have 
gathered  into  his  hands. 

"Western  Pennsylvania  has  generously  entertained, 
while  they  lived,  many  an  ally  enlisted  from  other 
fields,  and  with  equal  generosity  cherished  their 
memory  after  their  death.  But  there  is  no  risk  in 
anticipating  the  judgment  of  history  in  inscribing  in 
letters  of  gold  the  name  of  her  own  son,  Samuel 
Jennings  Wilson,  at  the  head  of  the  list,  first  and  best 
beloved,  and  longest  remembered  of  a  noble  line. 
Dear  friend,  it  was  a  blessing  to  know  thy  heart.  It 
will  be  a  living  joy  to  assist  in  keeping  thy  memory 
ereen." 


I. 

JOHN  KNOX. 


OCCASIONAL 
ADDRESSES  AND  SERMONS, 


I. 

JOHN  KNOX.* 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  Scotland 
was  wrapped  in  the  densest  gloom  of  intellectual  and 
moral  darkness.  Feudalism,  ignorance,  superstition, 
licentiousness,  and  tyranny — the  worst  elements  of 
the  Middle  Ages — held  brutal  sway  throughout  her 
borders.  The  bishops  and  abbots,  with  half  of  the 
wealth  of  the  realm  in  their  coffers,  outranking  princes 
and  nobles  both  in  dignity  and  power,  and  setting  at 
defiance  alike  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  outraged 
every  principle  of  virtue  and  every  dictate  of  decency. 
Priests  and  friars,  bestial  in  their  stolid  sensualness, 
filled  the  land  like  the  frogs  of  Egypt.  There  were 
friars  white  and  friars  black  and  friars  gray — friars 
of  every  hue  and  habit  and  description,  and  friars 
everywhere. 

Monasteries  and  nunneries  were  counted  by  the 
hundred,  and  each  several  one  of  them  was  a  leprous 
plague-spot.  The  investigation  into  the  condition  of 
monasteries  in  England  which  was  ordered  by  Henry 
Vni.  disclosed  a  corruption  as  festering  and  loathsome 
as  that  upon  which  fire  and  brimstone  were   rained  in 

*At  the  tercentenary  celebration,  Philadelphia,  November  20, 
1872. 


4  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESSES    AND    SERxMONS. 

Sodom.  The  state  of  morals  in  the  Scottish  monas- 
teries was,  if  possible,  worse. 

The  people  had  these  bishops,  abbots,  priests,  and 
friars  for  their  teachers,  leaders,  and  examples  in  holy 
living.  ''  The  priest's  lips  no  longer  kept  knowl- 
edge ;  "  and  when  immortal  souls  "  sought  the  law  at 
his  mouth,"  they  were  tantalized  with  dead  forms  in 
a  dead  language,  which  were  as  destitute  of  the  spirit 
and  grace  of  the  gospel  as  a  mummy  of  the  Pyramids, 
wrapped  in  cerecloth,  is  destitute  of  warm,  pulsing 
blood  and  stirring  passions.  The  Bible  was  almost 
as  unknown  as  one  of  the  lost  Sibylline  books.  The 
pulpit  was  obsolete.  Instead  of  the  sermon  were 
substituted  gossip,  scandal,  ribald  jest,  and  obscene 
comedy.  By  means  of  excommunication,  anathema, 
and  interdict — the  most  terrific  ecclesiastical  ma- 
chinery ever  invented — the  clergy  tyrannized  relent- 
lessly over  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men.  Priests 
ground  the  faces  of  the  poor  as  systematically  and 
as  sedulously  as  though  they  had  been  called  of  God 
and  ordained  of  men  for  this  specific  service.  The 
Church,  which  should  have  been  the  friend  and 
helper  and  teacher  and  lifter-upof  the  people — which 
should  have  been  quick  to  discern  their  wants  and 
swift  to  avenge  their  wrongs — used  all  its  power  to 
keep  them  in  ignorance,  to  foster  their  superstitions, 
and  to  add  to  the  bitterness  of  their  burdens. 

This  apostate  Church,  winking  at  every  species  of 
vice,  and  tolerant  of  all  forms  of  iniquity,  ''  breathed 
out  threatenings  and  slaughter  "  against  all  who  ven- 
tured to  question  her  authority  or  dared  to  seek  for 
light  and  truth.  For  all  such  she  had  the  ready  argu- 
ment of  tyrants,  7^;t  and  sword.     Men  were  burned  at 


JOHN    KNOX.  5 

the  stake  for  having  the  New  Testament  in  a  language 
in  which  they  could  read  and  understand  it.  Yet  this 
vast  despotism,  with  all  its  elaborate  machinery  of 
oppression,  was  impotent  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
truth.  It  could  burn  men  with  balls  of  brass  in  their 
mouths  to  keep  them  from  preaching  the  Gospel  in  the 
flames,  but  it  could  not  destroy  or  paralyze  the  truth 
for  which  these  men  died. 

But  the  day  of  Scotland's  redemption  was  drawing 
nigh.  The  echo  of  the  voices  of  Wickliffe  and  Huss 
sounded  faintly  along  her  shores.  By  and  by  she 
caught  glimpses  of  the  light  which  had  been  kindled 
in  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  France. 

A  youth  of  twenty,  with  the  blood  of  earls  and 
dukes  in  his  veins,  invested  with  a  high  ecclesiastical 
dignity  from  his  childhood,  and  with  a  long  and 
brilliant  line  of  promotion  open  before  him,  began 
to  feel  the  stirrings  of  the  new  spirit  that  was 
abroad  among  the  nations  ;  went  to  Germany,  sat 
at  the  feet  of  Luther  and  Melanchthon  at  Wittenberg, 
caught  the  enthusiasm  of  the  eloquent  converted 
Franciscan  monk,  Francis  Lambert,  at  Marburg,  and 
returned  to  Scotland  all  aflame  with  zeal  to  preach 
the  gospel.  One  afternoon  a  fire  was  prepared  in 
front  of  the  old  college  in  St.  Andrews,  and  this 
young  man — only  three-and-twenty  years  old — died 
at  the  stake  as  only  one  of  God's  heroes  can  die,  and 
then  history  wrote,  in  ineffaceable  characters,  the 
name  of  the  proto-martyr  of  the  Scottish  Reformation 
— Patrick  Ha  in  iltou . 

As  had  been  predicted,  "  the  reik  of  Patrick  Hamil- 
ton infected  as  many  as  it  blew  upon."  From  his 
ashes  sprung  men  armed  with  the  panoply  of  the  Gos- 


6  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

pel.  The  hierarchy  could  burn  men,  but  these  very 
burnings  kindled  a  light  which  could  not  be  put  out. 
A  learned  and  eloquent  evangelist  arose  in  the  person 
of  George  Wishart.  When  he  preached,  crowds  hung 
upon  his  lips,  spellbound,  by  the  hour.  If  churches 
were  shut  against  him,  he  preached  in  the  streets,  on 
dikes,  or  from  city  gates.  His  voice  rang  like  a  trum- 
pet through  Scotland.  It  was  one  of  the  few  truly 
brave  and  grand  voices  that  have  been  heard  in  this 
world,  but  it  was  soon  quenched  in  fire.  On  the 
gentle  slope  in  front  of  the  castle  of  St.  Andrews,  the 
sea  sounding  his  requiem,  George  Wishart  gloriously 
sealed  his  testimony  with  his  blood.  His  persecutors, 
fearing  that  eloquent,  clarion  voice  even  in  the  flames, 
stopped  his  utterance  by  tightening  a  cord  around  his 
neck.  Through  the  tapestried  window  of  the  castle, 
reclining  on  luxurious  cushions,  Cardinal  Beaton  wit- 
nessed the  martyrdom,  glutting  his  lecherous  eyes 
with  the  agonies  of  this  illustrious  witness  of  the 
truth. 

The  hierarchy,  wielding  the  tremendous  power 
which  had  been  won  for  it  by  Hildebrand  and  Inno- 
cent III.,  bearing  two  swords,  the  temporal  as  well  as 
the  spiritual,  insolently  lording  it  over  prince,  priests, 
and  people,  and  setting  its  face  like  a  flint  against  all 
enlightenment  of  the  intellect  or  soul,  exercised  a  most 
cruel  and  heartless  despotism.  Its  spirit  was  devil- 
ish. So  long  as  its  magnates  could  roll  in  wealth,  so 
long  as  they  could  pamper  their  lazy  bodies  on  the 
hard  earnings  of  the  poor,  so  long  as  without  restraint 
or  let  or  hindrance  they  could  indulge  their  brutal 
lusts  and  passions,  they  were  content  ;  but  rather  than 
lose   an,  iota  of  their  ill-gotten  and    ill-used  power, 


JOHN    KNOX.  7 

rather  than  have  the  people  read  the  Word  of  God  for 
themselves,  they  would  see  Scotland  lighted  from  one 
end  to  the  other  with  blazing  stakes  and  fagots. 
They  had  the  power,  and  they  used  it  savagely.  Their 
inquisition  for  those  who  dared  to  preach  Christ  was 
as  keen  and  unerring  as  the  scent  of  the  bloodhound. 
Every  voice  that  was  raised  in  behalf  of  truth  and 
righteousness  was  stifled  in  fire.  Every  kindling  of 
light  was  trodden  out  in  blood.  To  have  the  love  of 
Christ  in  the  heart,  and  to  dare  proclaim  it,  was  swift 
and  sure  destruction. 

Whence,  then,  can  deliverance  come  ?  Where  can 
be  found  a  man  strong  enough  and  brave  enough  to 
grapple  with  this  gigantic  despotism,  whose  mighty 
power  has  been  the  steady  growth  of  ages  ?  Has  God 
in  his  quiver  one  such  arrow  ?  Has  he,  in  all  his 
kingdom,  one  such  champion  hero  ? 

A  tutor  in  the  family  of  Douglass  of  Langniddrie, 
who  had  been  a  teacher  of  philosophy  at  St.  Andrews, 
until,  becoming  disgusted  with  the  jargon  of  scho- 
lasticism and  the  corruptions  of  papacy,  he  abandoned 
the  one  and  renounced  the  other,  became  the  devoted 
follower  and  chivalrous  sword-bearer  of  George  Wish- 
art.  When  Wishart  was  arrested,  he  advised  the 
tutor  to  return  to  "  his  bairns,"  as  he  could  no  longer 
be  of  any  service  to  him.  Very  reluctantly,  and  only 
after  earnest  remonstrances,  the  tutor  followed  this 
advice.  Besides  teaching  the  classics,  he  exercised 
his  pupils  daily  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  indoctri- 
nated them  theologically,  by  catechetical  instruction, 
and  at  stated  intervals  these  catechisings  were  public. 

The  times  were  now  fraught  with  momentous 
issues,  and  events  big  with  the  destinies  of  peoples 


8  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

crowded  thick  upon  each  other.  A  few  months  only- 
after  the  day  upon  which  Cardinal  Beaton,  lounging 
on  his  velvet  cushions,  had  witnessed  from  his  window 
in  the  castle,  with  undisguised  satisfaction,  the  burn- 
ing of  Wishart,  his  own  lifeless  body,  covered  with 
the  gaping  wounds  of  assassins'  daggers,  was  hung  as 
a  public  spectacle  from  that  identical  window. 

The  tutor  of  Douglass,  together  with   his  pupils, 
took  refuge  in  the  castle  of  St.  Andrews,  which  was 
then  held  by  the  enemies  of  the  late  cardinal.     Here 
he  was  soon   recognized  as  one  who  was  eminently 
fitted  to  become  the  teacher  and  leader  of  men  and  of 
princes,  rather  than  to  be  the  tutor  of  boys.     When 
the    judgment    of    his    friends    in    this    regard    was 
solemnly  announced  to  him,  and  he  was  adjured  to 
undertake  the   work  of  the  ministry,  he  burst  into  a 
flood  of  tears,  shut  himself  in  his   chamber,  and   for 
days   was   overwhelmed    with  the  profoundest  grief. 
Through  the  importunity  of  friends,  and  partly  through 
the  impertinence  of  a  certain  champion  of  the  papacy, 
he  was  at   length    constrained   to  enter  the  pulpit  in, 
defence   of  the  truth.     It  was  a  memorable  day  in 
Scottish  history  when  he  first  preached  in  the  parish 
church  at  St.  Andrews.     Brave  men  held  their  breath 
as  they  listened  to  his  bold  and  sweeping  utterances. 
Such  preaching  had  not  been  heard  in  Scotland  for 
ages.     "  Others  hewed  the  branches  of  the  papistry, 
but  he  struck  at  the  root."     Some  rejoiced  and  took 
courage,  some  doubted,  some    hoped,    some   feared, 
many  were  furious,  but  all  felt  that  there  was  a  new 
power  in  the  world,  while  a  few  chosen   spirits  recog- 
nized John  Knox  cjs  the  ordained  champion  and  leader 
of  the  revolution  then  beginning  in  Scotland. 


JOHN    KNOX.  9 

By  the  aid  of  French  forces  the  castle  of  St.  An- 
drews was  reduced,  Knox  was  taken  prisoner,  was 
loaded  with  chains  and  confined  as  a  galley-slave. 
Through  hardship,  exposure,  and  sickness  his  body 
was  reduced  to  a  skeleton,  but  his  spirit  remained  in- 
vincible. Once  the  galley  on  which  he  was  confined 
came  in  sight  of  St.  Andrews,  and  the  spires  of  the 
city  being  pointed  out  to  him,  he  was  asked  if  he  knew 
the  place.  With  kindling  eye  he  replied  :  "  Yes,  I 
know  it  well,  for  I  see  the  steeple  of  that  place  where 
God  first  opened  my  mouth  in  public  to  his  glory,  and 
I  am  fully  persuaded,  how  weak  soever  I  now  appear, 
that  I  shall  not  depart  this  life  till  that  my  tongue 
shall  glorify  his  godly  name  in  the  same  place."  We 
admire  the  indomitable  spirit  of  Julius  Caesar,  who 
threatened  to  their  faces  to  crucify  the  pirates  who 
held  him  in  their  power  as  a  prisoner ;  but  these 
words  of  Knox,  in  the  condition  in  which  he  then 
was,  breathe  a  grander  courage  than  that  of  Julius 
Caesar. 

Released  from  the  galleys,  he  spent  five  years  in 
England  as  an  asylum  from  persecution,  and  as  a 
preacher  in  Berwick  and  New  Castle  he  was  "  mighty 
in  word";  as  Chaplain  to  Edward  VI.  he  "stood 
before  kings";  as  a  court  preacher  he  was  as  plain 
and  fearless  and  searching  as  Latimer  ;  as  a  theolo- 
gian he  was  consulted  in  regard  to  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer  and  the  Articles  of  Religion  ;  as  a  divine 
a  brilliant  line  of  promotion  was  open  before  him  in 
the  Anglican  Church.  Edward  VI.  proffered  him  a 
bishopric,  and  any  dignity  in  the  English  Church  was 
within  his  easy  reach  ;  but  he  could  accept  none 
of    these  without   the  sacrifice  of    honest   and  well- 


lO  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

grounded  convictions,  and  he  therefore  relinquished 
them  all  "  for  conscience'  sake,"  and  remained  loyally 
and  heroically  true  to  these  convictions  in  spite  of 
gold  and  glory.  He  remained  poor  and  untitled  ;  but 
is  there  a  title  on  earth  that  would  add  any  dignity  to 
the  simple  name  John  Knox  ? 

When  that  "  idolatrous  Jezebel,  mischievous  Mary 
of  the  Spaniard's  blood,"  came  to  the  throne,  Knox 
was  compelled  to  flee  from  England.  He  went  first 
to  France,  thence  to  Switzerland,  and  thence  to  Ger- 
many. His  exile  on  the  Continent  forms  an  important 
segment  of  his  life,  for  it  threw  him  into  contact  with 
other  Reformers  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and 
afforded  him  time  for  study  and  mature  reflection. 
In  the  matter  of  the  church  at  Frankfort,  he  had  an 
opportunity  of  testifying  publicly  against  the  false 
and  pernicious  principles  upon  which  the  English 
Reformation  was  conducted,  and,  in  consequence,  he 
again  proudly  accepted  exile  rather  than  sacrifice  or 
compromise  a  jot  or  tittle  of  his  honest  convictions. 
But  the  most  important  feature  of  this  part  of  his  life 
was  his  intercourse  with  John  Calvin  at  Geneva. 
These  two  great  men,  whose  influence  has  struck 
deeper  into  the  currents  of  history  than  that  of  any 
other  two  men  then  living,  entertained  the  most  ardent 
esteem  and  friendship  for  each  other.  Although 
Knox  at  this  time  was  fifty  years  old,  he  pursued  his 
studies  at  Geneva  as  diligently  and  enthusiastically 
as  the  merest  tyro.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  sun- 
niest part  of  his  stormy  life.  He  was  engaged  in  con- 
genial studies  and  he  was  surrounded  with  congenial 
companions,  yet  he  relinquished  these  studies  and  the 
society  of  congenial   spirits   in  Switzerland,  and   re- 


JOHN    KNOX.  II 

turned  to   Scotland   just   so   soon   as   he   felt  that   he 
could  be  of  service  there. 

Back    once    more    in    his    dear    native    land,    he 
preached  day  and  night,   almost   incessantly,  and  the 
"word  grew  mightily."     No  part  of  his  life  was  more 
fruitful  of  great  results  than  this  brief  sojourn  in  Scot- 
land at  this  time.     His  clear  vision    pierced   through 
all   disguises,   shams,  and  compromises.     His  sharp, 
incisive  judgment  penetrated  to  the  very  core  of  the 
issue.     To  him  all  compliance  with  papal  ceremonies 
was  treason   to  the  cause   of    truth.      With  a  steady 
hand,  that  never  missed    its  aim,  he  at   one  blow  cut 
the  last  tie  that  bound   the   hesitating  Reformers  to 
the  papacy.     Thus  early  in  the  struggle  he  settled  at 
once  and   forever  the  policy  of  the    Reformation    in 
Scotland.     There  were  to  be  no  compromises,  no  tem- 
porizing expediences.     The  work  was  to  be  genuine 
and   thorough.     At    this    time,  when    almost    totally 
hidden  from  the  world  and  unknown  to  it,  he  laid  deep 
and  immovable  the  foundations  of  the  Scottish  Refor- 
mation.    His  glowing  earnestness  fused  the  floating, 
incoherent  elements  of  Reform  into  consistency,  sym- 
metry,   and    strength.     A   master-hand    was    on    the 
helm,  and  the  noble  ship,  responding  to  his  touch,  as- 
sumed that  course  which  she  held  triumphantly  to  the 
end.     All  ecclesiastical  history  since  that  day  is  a  vin- 
dication of  Knox's  policy  of  the  Reformation.     It  is 
the  only  true  policy. 

Called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  English  church  in 
Geneva  in  1556,  Knox  returned  to  Switzerland,  where 
he  remained  for  two  years.  While  there  his  time 
was  occupied  in  preaching,  in  pastoral  labor,  in  work- 
ing upon  the  Geneva  Bible,  and  in  uttering  his  terrible 


12  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

"  Blast  of  the  Trumpet  against  the  Monstrous  Regi- 
ment of  Women." 

In  the  meantime  the  queen  regent  of  Scotland, 
"  crafty,  dissimulate,  and  false,"  having  thrown  off  her 
cunningly  woven  disguises,  took  the  first  step  toward 
the  total  extirpation  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland 
by  summoning  the  Protestant  preachers  to  stand  their 
trials  at  Stirling.  The  queen  regent,  Hamilton,  arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrews,  and  Beaton,  archbishop  of 
Glasgow,  notwithstanding  bitter  and  rankling  jeal- 
ousies among  themselves,  had  joined  hands  for  the 
purpose  of  crushing  out  Protestantism  utterly.  The 
plans  were  all  matured.  The  plot  was  ripe.  The 
mine  was  about  to  be  sprung.  At  this  supreme  crisis 
the  man  whom  God  had  been  preparing,  by  a  long  and 
severe  discipline,  to  be  one  of  his  ordained  instru- 
ments in  great  achievements,  steps  suddenly  upon  the 
scene.  Elijah  was  kept  hidden  in  obscurity  until  he 
was  to  confront  Ahab.  Moses  had  a  forty  years'  dis- 
cipline in  the  wilderness,  and  came  from  the  deserts  of 
Midian  to  stand  before  Pharaoh.  Moses  and  Elijah 
were  no  more  really  chosen,  ordained,  and  prepared 
ministers  of  God  to  act  in  great  crises  of  the  Church 
than  was  John  Knox.  In  slavery  and  in  exile  his 
nature  was  seasoned  and  toughened  to  the  texture  of 
true  heroism.  In  his  public  catechisings  at  Langnid- 
drie,  he  first  trained  to  popular  speaking  that  voice 
which  afterward  shook  thrones  and  dashed  to  pieces 
the  schemes  and  policies  of  kings,  queens,  princes,  and 
nobles. 

On  the  invitation  of  certain  noblemen  he  returned 
to  Scotland  "  in  the  brunt  of  the  battle."  His  appear- 
ance at  Edinburgh,  as  sudden  and  as  unexpected  as 


JOHN    KNOX.  13 

the  appearance  of  Elijah  at  vSamaria,  created  among 
his  enemies  as  great  a  panic  as  though  it  had  been  the 
invasion  of  a  hostile  army.  A  good  man  in  earnest, 
and  with  a  good  cause,  is  as  "  the  chariots  of  Israel 
and  the  horsemen  thereof,"  mightier  than  armies  and 
navies.  Although  under  sentence  of  outlawry  and 
liable  at  any  hour  to  be  arrested  and  executed,  Knox 
resolved  to  stand  with  his  brethren  at  Stirling  and 
share  their  dangers  and  their  fate,  "by  life,  by  death, 
or  else  by  both,  to  glorify  God."  But  from  this 
threatened  danger  the  Lord  preserved  both  him  and 
them. 

Amidst  the  throes  of  incipient  civil  war,  and  in  veri- 
fication of  his  own  prediction  while  a  galley-slave,  he 
returned  to  St.  Andrews.  The  archbishop  peremp- 
torily forbade  his  preaching  in  the  cathedral,  and 
threatened  that  in  case  he  should  dare  to  do  so  he 
would  be  shot  down  in  the  pulpit  by  the  soldiers.  In 
defiance  of  the  archbishop's  threat,  and  in  spite  of  the 
remonstrances  of  his  friends,  he  yet  preached. 

This  was  the  very  crisis  and  pivot  of  the  struggle. 
At  Augsburg  the  princes  saved  the  Lutheran  Refor- 
mation, when  the  theologians  would  have  compromised 
or  surrendered.  Knox,  by  his  splendid  intrepidity, 
saved  the  cause  in  Scotland,  when  nobles  as  brave  as 
the  bravest  would  have  yielded  to  the  demands  of  the 
archbishop.  John  Knox  at  St.  Andrews  is  a  figure  as 
grand  and  towering  as  Martin  Luther  before  the  diet 
of  Worms. 

The  effects  and  results  of  Knox's  preaching  at  this 
time  were  marvellous.  In  the  three  days  at  St.  An- 
drews— the  primal  see  of  Scotland — popery  was 
utterly  overthrown,  the  Reformed  worship  was  set  up. 


14  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

images  and  pictures  were  torn  from  the  churches,  and 
monasteries  were  demolished.  Knox's  doctrine  was 
as  fatal  to  popish  superstition  as  the  fire  which  ran 
along  the  ground  in  the  plague  of  the  hail  was  fatal 
to  the  vegetable  gods  of  Egypt.  Wheresoever  that 
doctrine  went — and  it  ran  very  swiftly — popish  power 
and  popish  idolatry,  with  all  the  paraphernalia  thereof, 
melted  before  it. 

In  less  than  a  month  after  his  triumphal  appearance 
at  St.  Andrews,  Knox's  voice  was  ringing  among  the 
rafters  of  St.  Giles's  and  of  the  Abbey  church  at  Edin- 
burgh. Chosen  at  once  as  pastor  of  St.  Giles's,  he 
entered  upon  his  labors  in.  that  church  which  his 
name  has  made  historic  throughout  the  world,  and 
where  "  his  tongue  was  more  than  a  match  for  Mary's 
sceptre,"  and  where  so  often  "  his  voice  in  an  hour 
put  more  hfe  into  men  than  six  hundred  trumpets 
could." 

During  the  trying  vicissitudes  of  civil  war,  Knox 
was  the  one  pillar  of  strength  upon  which  Scotland 
leaned  with  her  whole  weight.  Wise  in  counsel, 
utterly  fearless  in  action,  mighty  in  the  resistless  tor- 
rents of  his  eloquence,  the  nation  turned  to  him  in- 
stinctively as  its  God-given  leader.  With  a  price 
upon  his  head,  with  hired  assassins  waylaying  his 
path,  ever  at  the  post  of  duty  and  of  danger,  "  care- 
less of  his  own  carcass,"  thinking  only  of  his  dear 
Scotland,  in  the  darkest  extremities  of  perilous  times 
waking  the  expiring  courage  of  heroes  with  the  trum- 
pet peals  of  his  eloquence,  he  fought  the  good  fight 
bravely  through,  until  within  one  year  peace  was  pro- 
claimed, popery  was  abolished  by  act  of  Parliament, 
and  a  confession  prepared  principally  by  himself  was 


JOHN    KNOX.  15 

adopted.  There  never  was  a  nobler  fight  or  one 
that  was  more  signal  in  its  achievements.  A  complete 
revolution  was  accomplished,  popery  was  abolished, 
the  Reformed  Church  had  a  firm  status  and  a  com- 
plete Presbyterian  organization.  The  battle  was 
really  gained.  Henceforth  the  struggle  was  to  main- 
tain the  ground  which  had  been  won. 

A  more  dangerous  power,  however,  than  fire  and 
sword  was  now  to  be  encountered  in  the  insidious  in- 
fluence of  a  brilliant  court,  which  had  as  its  centre  the 
beautiful  and  fascinating  Mary  Stuart.  The  eagle  eye 
of  Knox  perceived  at  once  the  point  of  danger,  and 
Mary,  on  the  other  hand,  as  soon  discovered  the  one 
power  which  stood  in  the  way  of  the  accomplishment 
of  her  designs.  Knox  was  summoned  to  Holy  rood, 
and  in  a  long  conference  Mary  tried  her  best  to  intim- 
idate and  awe  him.  She  might  as  well  have  tried  to 
shake  Salisbury  Crags  with  the  breath  of  her  nostrils. 

When  the  news  of  the  massacre  of  the  Protestants 
at  Vassy  in  France  reached  Holyrood,  Mary  had  a 
grand  ball  to  celebrate  the  event.  On  the  next  Sab- 
bath, Knox  thundered  in  St.  Giles's  against  those  who 
"  were  more  exercised  in  fiddling  and  flinging 
than  in  reading  or  hearing  God's  most  blessed  Word, 
and  those  who  danced  as  the  Philistines  their  fathers 
danced,  for  the  pleasure  which  they  take  in  the  dis- 
pleasure of  God's  people."  Mary  sent  for  Knox  the 
next  day.  He  retracted  nothing,  but  told  the  queen 
to  her  face  that  her  uncles,  the  Guises  of  France, 
''  were  enemies  to  God,  and  spared  not  to  spill  the 
blood  of  many  innocents,"  and  then  let  her  under- 
stand very  distinctly  that  "  it  was  not  his  vocation  to 
stand  at   her  chamber  door  and  to   have   no  further 


l6  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

liberty,  but  to  whisper  his  mind  in  her  Grace's  ear." 
That  voice  was  for  Scotland  and  the  world. 

"  He  departed,"  as  he  tells  us  in  his  "  Historic," 
*'  with  *d  reasonable  merry  countenance."  "  He  is  not 
afraid  !  "  whispered  the  papists  as  he  passed.  Turn- 
ing upon  them,  he  replied,  "  Why  should  the  pleasing 
countenance  of  a  gentilwoman  affray  me  ?  I  have 
luiked  on  the  faces  of  many  angry  men,  and  yet  have 
not  been  affrayed  above  measure."  That  man  could 
not  be  frightened.  Next,  Mary  plied  all  her  exquisite 
art  to  flatter  him,  but  in  this  she  succeeded  no  better. 

Times  grew  critical.  Many  of  the  nobles  were 
proving  recreant.  Knox  sacrificed  some  of  his  dear- 
est and  sweetest  friendships  rather  than  yield  an 
inch  or  an  iota  to  the  growing  encroachments  of  the 
papacy.  In  his  estimation  one  mass  was  worse  for 
Scotland  than  a  hostile  army.  The  nobles  were  ready 
and  anxious  to  compromise.  Parliament  was  pliable 
and  plastic  in  the  hands  of  Mary.  Knox  alone  stood 
in  her  way.  He,  therefore,  must  be  silenced  or  put 
out  of  her  way  somehow. 

For  the  fifth  time  Knox  was  summoned  to  the  pal- 
ace. In  a  torrent  of  tears  and  a  tempest  of  passion, 
Mary  stormed  and  railed  at  him.  Carried  beyond  all 
bounds  of  prudence,  she  at  last  spitefully  exclaimed  : 
"  What  are  you  in  this  commonwealth  ? "  Grandly 
Knox  replied  :  "  A  subject  born  within  the  same, 
madam  ;  and,  albeit  I  am  neither  earl,  lord,  nor 
baron  within  it,  yet  has  God  made  me — how  abject 
soever  I  am  in  your  eyes — a  profitable  member  within 
the  same  ;  yea,  madam,  to  me  it  appertains  no  less  to 
forewarn  of  such  things  as  may  hurt  it,  if  I  foresee 
them,  than  it  doth  to  any  of  the  nobility." 


JOHN    KNOX.  17 

There  is  not  in  history  a  nobler  answer. 

For  writing  a  circular  letter,  which  he  was  author- 
ized to  do  by  the  General  Assembly  when  any  exi- 
gency demanded  such  a  measure,  he  was  arraigned 
and  tried  for  treason.  He  made  a  brave  and  able 
defence,  and  to  the  bitter  disappointment  and  chagrin 
of  Mary  he  was  acquitted.  The  queen  had  learned 
that  Knox  could  not  be  intimidated,  neither  could  he 
be  flattered,  or  cajoled,  or  wheedled  into  compliance 
with  her  wishes.  She  had  also  discovered  that  she 
could  not  have  him  beheaded  for  treason  in  Scotland. 

She  next  entered  into  a  conspiracy  by  which, 
through  a  wholesale  slaughter  of  the  Protestants,  she 
hoped  to  get  rid  of  her  enemy.  A  league  had  been 
formed  between  the  Pope  and  the  Guises,  by  which 
Protestantism  in  France  was  to  be  utterly  rooted  out 
by  force.  To  this  infernal  bond  Mary  set  her  fair  and 
jewelled  hand,  and  that  brought  Scotland  within  the 
fatal  scope  of  the  league.  But  there  is  a  wheel  within 
a  wheel.  A  jealousy  between  Mary  and  her  husband, 
Darnley,  and  the  consequent  murder  of  Rizzio,  turned 
the  fierce  currents  of  history  into  other  channels,  and 
Scotland  was  saved  from  the  horrors  of  a  massacre 
such  as  that  of  St.  Bartholomew. 

Under  the  regency  of  Murray  the  Church  had  peace, 
and  the  revolution  of  1560  was  ratified.  There  was 
still  a  strong  and  vicious  papal  party,  but  by  firmness 
the  regent  kept  down  all  insurrections  until  he  was 
taken  off  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 

Under  the  regency  of  Lennox  there  was  civil  war. 
The  castle  of  Edinburgh  was  held  at  this  time  by  the 
queen's  forces,  and  these  forces  were  under  the  com- 
mand  of  the   apostate  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange.     Over- 


l8  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

whelmed  with  grief  on  account  of  the  death  of  his 
beloved  Murray,  Knox  had  been  smitten  with  apo- 
plexy, and  was  no  longer  able  to  walk  to  church  or  to 
ascend  the  pulpit  without  help.  Yet  he  was  as  watch- 
ful and  fearless  as  ever.  Not  liking  the  reports 
which  he  received  of  the  preaching  in  St.  Giles's, 
Grange  came  down  to  church  one  morning  with  a 
band  of  desperate  men  to  intimidate  the  preacher. 
The  old  man  rightly  interpreted  their  presence  as  a 
threat,  and,  his  infirmities  forgotten  for  the  time 
being,  his  wonted  fires  flamed  forth  again  ;  and  level- 
ing his  thunders  right  at  Grange,  he  made  the  very 
shingles  on  St.  Giles's  tremble. 

His  friends  now  feared  for  his  life.  The  castle  was 
full  of  Hamiltons,  all  thirsting  for  his  blood.  He  was 
shot  at  through  the  window  of  his  own  house.  But 
he  was  totally  unconscious  of  fear.  At  length  he  was 
prevailed  upon  to  leave  Edinburgh,  on  the  ground 
that  his  longer  continuance  there  would  involve  the 
lives  of  his  friends.     He  went  to  St.  Andrews. 

James  Melville,  who  was  then  a  student,  has  pre- 
served for  us  in  his  diary  a  very  graphic  account  of 
the  habits  and  appearance  of  the  great  Reformer  at 
this  time.  He  brings  the  scenes  vividly  before  us. 
We  see  the  tottering  old  man  walking  and  sitting  in 
the  yard  at  St.  Salvator's  College,  calling  the  students 
around  him,  exhorting  them  to  be  diligent  in  their 
studies,  to  know  God  and  his  work  in  the  country, 
and  to  stand  by  the  "  gude  cause."  With  his  heart 
yet  young,  we  find  him  encouraging  the  students  by 
his  presence  at  a  play  which  was  acted  by  them  on 
the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  one  of  their  regents. 
We  see  him   in  his  great  weakness  creeping  to  the 


JOHN     KNOX.  19 

kirk,  "slowly  and  warily,"  with  a  "furring  of 
martics  about  his  neck,"  a  staff  in  one  hand  and 
his  trusty  servant  supporting  him  on  the  other  side. 
We  see  him  lifted  bodily  by  two  men  into  the  pulpit, 
and  then  leaning  wearily  upon  it  for  support.  We 
hear  his  tremulous,  faltering,  uncertain  tones  as  he 
opens  the  text  ;  we  listen  as  he  "  proceeds  moderately 
for  the  space  of  half  an  hour";  and  then  entering 
upon  his  application,  he  warms  and  glows  until  he 
makes  the  students  "  grew  and  tremble  so  that  they 
cannot  hold  their  pens  to  write,"  and  kindling  with 
the  rush  and  momentum  of  his  thought,  the  spirit 
triumphing  over  the  half  dead  body,  we  see  the  shriv- 
elled limbs  become  instinct  with  life  and  energy, 
and  the  whole  man  "  so  active  and  vigorous  that  he 
is  like  to  ding  the  pulpit  in  blads  and  flie  out  of  it." 

Providence  opened  up  the  way  for  his  return  to 
Edinburgh  before  he  died.  He  returned  according  to 
an  earnest  invitation,  and  on  the  express  and  emphatic 
condition  that  he  "  should  not  temper  his  tongue  or 
cease  to  speak  against  the  men  of  the  castle." 

Once  more  he  is  back  in  his  old  pulpit,  but  his  voice 
can  no  longer  fill  St.  Giles's.  To  accommodate  him 
with  a  smaller  audience  chamber,  the  congregation 
prepared  for  him  the  Tolbooth  church.  While  these 
preparations  are  in  progress,  I  invite  you  to  accom- 
pany me  for  a  little  while  to  the  Continent. 

When  Knox  was  driven  out  of  England  by  "  Bloody 
Mary,"  he  found  a  grateful  asylum  in  France,  where 
he  formed  many  intimate  and  ardent  friendships. 
Perilous  times  cement  kindred  spirits. 

While  Luther  was  lecturing  on  philosophy  at  Wit- 
tenberg, the  venerable  Lefevre  in  France,  through  the 


20  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Study  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  had  reached  the  central 
doctrine  of  the  Reformation,  justification  by  faith. 
Brigonnet,  bishop  of  Meaux,  occupied  the  same  theo- 
logical ground.  When,  therefore,  this  doctrine  was 
proclaimed  in  Germany,  France  responded  to  it  with 
a  quick  and  live  sympathy.  The  leaven  of  the  Gospel 
spread  rapidly  from  the  professor  in  her  great  univer- 
sity to  the  peasant  in  the  furrow — from  the  prince  by 
the  throne  to  the  mechanic  at  his  bench.  Margaret 
of  Valois,  queen  of  Navarre,  the  witty,  the  accom- 
plished, and  the  beloved  sister  of  Francis  I.,  was  in 
full  sympathy  with  the  Reformation,  and  for  some 
time  she  carried  the  sympathies  of  her  royal  brother 
with  her.  But  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the 
enemies  of  the  Gospel  would  quietly  witness  these 
rapid  conquests  without  putting  men  to  death,  "  for 
the  word  of  God  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
Christ."  As  in  other  countries,  so  in  France,  perse- 
cutions raged  fiercely.  Loaded  with  every  oppro- 
brious epithet,  charged  with  crimes  as  atrocious  as 
those  which  were  laid  against  the  early  Christians  by 
the  pagans,  subjected  to  tortures  as  refined  in  cruelty 
as  those  of  Nero,  in  spite  of  fire  and  steel  and  the 
balancoir,  the  noble  band  of  martyrs  and  confessors 
in  France  heroically  maintained  their  course,  singing 
psalms  at  the  stake,  "  glorifying  God  in  the  fires," 
bearing  their  testimony  to  the  truth,  until  their  en- 
raged persecutors,  in  order  to  silence  them,  cut  out 
their  tongues  and  flung  them,  yet  quivering,  into  their 
faces.  In  the  sixteenth  century,  France  was  the 
bloodiest  theatre  of  persecution  of  any  country  in 
Europe  save  one. 
Yet  the  blood  of  these  glorious  martyrs  only  ferti- 


JOHN    KNOX.  21 

lized  the  soil  for  the  propagation  of  the  truth.  The 
smoke  of  their  sacrifice  disseminated  the  principles 
for  which  they  died.  The  Scriptures  were  translated 
into  French  by  Olivetan,  the  relative  of  Calvin.  The 
Psalms,  turned  into  metre  by  Marot,  "  the  poet  of 
princes  and  the  prince  of  poets,"  were  sung  at  the 
court  and  on  the  fashionable  promenade  of  Paris,  and 
were  hummed  even  by  King  Francis  himself.  The 
printing-press  was  busy.  It  teemed  with  books  and 
tracts.  Tracts  were  scattered  like  autumnal  leaves  in 
the  streets  of  Paris. 

A  placard  against  the  mass  was  one  night  posted 
on  the  walls  of  the  principal  cities  throughout  the 
kingdom,  and  even  on  the  king's  own  door.  Francis 
was  infuriated  when  he  thought  of  the  insult  against 
his  own  majesty,  and  was  alarmed  and  horrified  when 
he  thought  of  the  insult  against  the  holy  sacrament. 
As  a  public  expiation  for  this  latter  offence,  he  ordered 
a  solemn  procession,  which  in  its  object,  its  spirit,  its 
incidents,  its  grotesque  blending  of  extreme  devout- 
ness  with  savage  ferocity,  is  one  of  the  most  unique 
in  history.  Everything  possible  was  done  to  make 
it  the  most  imposing  spectacle  of  the  kind  that  had 
ever  been  witnessed  in  France.  The  highest  digni- 
taries in  Church  and  State,  emblazoned  with  the  in- 
signia of  their  offices,  adorned  the  ranks.  Every 
shrine  in  Paris  was  emptied  of  relics,  and  the  proces- 
sion was  graced  with  all  the  treasures  of  the  reliquary, 
from  the  crown  of  thorns  to  the  beard  of  St.  Louis. 
Under  a  canopy  borne  by  princes  of  the  blood,  the 
host  was  carried  by  the  bishop  of  Paris.  In  six  public 
places  on  the  route  of  the  procession  as  many  altars 
were  erected  for  the  repose  of  the  sacrament,  and  be- 


22  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

side  each  of  these  altars  there  was  a  scaffold,  a  pile 
of  fagots,  and  an  iron  beam,  so  arranged  by  means  of 
pivot  and  pulley  that  it  could  be  raised  and  lowered 
at  will.  When  the  head  of  the  procession  reached 
these  altars  successively,  a  Reformer  was  tied  to  the 
end  of  the  beam,  and  by  a  seesaw  movement  was 
plunged  again  and  again  into  a  bath  of  fire.  These 
awful  dippings  were  so  timed  that,  the  ligaments  be- 
ing consumed,  the  victim  dropped  into  the  blazing 
pile  just  as  the  king  was  devoutly  kneeling  at  the 
altar  in  adoration  of  the  host.  The  misguided,  mad- 
dened populace  bowed  down  in  the  streets  to  worship 
bits  of  wood  and  dead  men's  bones,  while,  at  the 
same  time,  they  morbidly  luxuriated  in  the  exquisite 
tortures  of  those  "  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
worthy."  Strange  extremes  meet  in  human  nature  ! 
This  spectacle  engendered  a  morbid  taste  for  public 
slaughterings,  which  has  many  times  since  converted 
France  into  an  Aceldama,  a  field  of  blood,  and  which 
has  had  as  its  legitimate  results  the  guillotine  of  the 
Revolution  and  the  awful  butcheries  of  the  Commune, 
three  centuries  later. 

A  French  refugee  in  Basle  heard  with  keenest  pain 
reports  of  the  awful  sufferings  of  his  friends  in 
France,  and  his  indignation  was  kindled  to  a  white 
heat  when  the  persecutors,  with  the  king  at  their  head, 
attempted  to  palliate  the  atrocities  which  they  were 
committing  by  publishing  the  basest  calumnies 
against  both  the  opinions  and  practices  of  the  Re- 
formers. He  determined  that  these  traduced  and 
persecuted  people  of  God  should  be  vindicated.  To 
this  end  he  wrote  a  little  book^  and  in  a  bold  and 
immortal   address   dedicated  it   to   Francis  I.     This 


JOHN    KNOX.  23 

was  the  first  edition  of  what  the  world  now  knows  as 
Calvin's  Institutes,  the  noblest  apology  ever  penned 
by  an  uninspired  man. 

The  Institutes  of  Calvin  at  once  gave  consistency 
and  symmetry  to  the  Reformed  Church  in  France  ; 
and,  in  spite  of  sceptre  and  sword,  cemented  by  the 
blood  of  martyrs,  it  grew  strong,  until  it  published  its 
own  apology,  in  its  doctrines  as  crystallized  in  the 
Confession  of  1559.  At  this  time,  a  single  step  in  the 
right  direction  would  have  emancipated  France  from 
the  thraldom  of  the  papac}',  but  she  knew  not  "  the 
time  of  her  visitation."  Behind  the  throne,  upon 
which  sat  a  poor,  weak,  sickly,  uxorious  boy  yet  in  his 
teens,  stood  the  Lorraines,  with  the  Duke  of  Guise  at 
their  head,  and  they  with  consummate  ability  and 
craft  and  utter  unscrupulousness  wielded  the  powers 
of  the  government  for  the  suppression  of  the  gospel. 
It  was  an  ominous  conjunction — the  gloomy  despot, 
Philip  II.,  on  the  throne  of  Spain,  the  Duke  of  Guise 
behind  the  throne  of  France,  with  Mary  Stuart,  niece 
of  Guise,  as  wife  of  the  puppet  king,  and  the  mother 
of  Mary  and  sister  of  Guise  as  queen  regent  of  Scot- 
land. It  was  a  conjunction  which  portended  evil,  and 
it  brought  upon  France  *'  a  day  of  wasteness  and  deso- 
lation," a  time  when  God's  people  "  were  scattered 
and  peeled,  meted  out  and  trodden  under  foot  ";  a 
time  when  every  sanctuary  of  safety  and  of  right  was 
ruthlessly  invaded  and  wantonly  desecrated  ;  a  time 
when  clustering  villages  of  peaceful,  thrifty,  God- 
fearing citizens  were  razed  as  though  they  had  been 
dens  of  wild  beasts,  and  with  an  overthrow  so  utter 
and  complete  that  not  a  stone  was  left  to  mark  the 
spot  where  they  had  been,  nor   a  human  being  to  tell 


24  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  Story  of  their  destruction  ;  a  time  when  rivers  in 
their  courses  were  dammed  up  with  the  bodies  of 
slaughtered  saints  ;  a  time  when  the  lords  and  ladies 
of  the  court  regaled  themselves  daily,  amidst  pleas- 
antry and  repartee,  by  witnessing,  from  the  windows 
of  the  palace,  the  mortal  agonies  of  tortured  martyrs  ; 
a  time  when  the  atmosphere  of  the  court  became  pes- 
tilential from  the  stench  of  blood  ;  a,  time  when  little 
children  at  their  plays  talked  about  and  familiarized 
themselves  with  the  thought  of  death  by  martyrdom. 

The  massacre  of  Vassy,  in  open  and  utter  defiance 
of  the  edict  of  January,  which  has  been  called  the 
Magna  Charta  of  religious  liberty  in  France,  demon- 
strated to  the  Protestants  the  absolute  necessity  of 
self-defence.  Longer  non-resistance  would  be  sui- 
cidal. They  rallied,  therefore,  under  the  standards 
of  their  renowned  leaders  Conde  and  the  Colignis. 
Jeanne  d'AIbret,  queen  of  Navarre,  put  her  young 
son  Henry  into  the  ranks  as  a  soldier,  and  pawned 
her  crown  jewels  to  raise  money  for  the  war.  Char- 
lotte  de  Laval,  urging  her  husband,  the  Admiral 
Coligni,  to  take  up  arms  in  defence  of  the  suffering 
Protestants,  was  asked  by  him  :  "  Are  you  prepared 
to  endure  confiscation,  flight,  exile,  shame,  nakedness, 
and  hunger,  and  what  is  worse,  to  suffer  all  this  in 
your  children  ?  Are  you  prepared  to  see  your  husband 
branded  as  a  rebel  and  dragged  to  a  scaffold,  while 
your  children,  disgraced  and  ruined,  are  begging  their 
bread  at  the  hands  of  their  enemies  ?  I  give  you 
eight  days  to  reflect  upon  it  ;  and  when  you  shall  be 
prepared  for  such  reverses,  I  will  be  ready  to  set  for- 
ward and  perish  with  you  and  our  friends."  Char- 
lotte instantly  replied  :  *'  The  eight  days  are  already 


JOHN    KNOX.  25 

expired.  Go,  sir,  where  your  duty  calls  you.  Heaven 
will  not  give  the  victory  to  our  enemies.  In  the  name 
of  God  I  call  upon  you  to  resist  no  longer,  but  save 
our  brethren  or  die  in  the  attempt."  The  Admiral 
was  in  his  saddle  the  next  morning.  There  were 
heroines  as  well  as  heroes  in  those  days. 

The  baleful  theory  of  uniformity — the  theory  that 
there  was  room  in  France  for  only  one  Church,  and 
that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church — divided  the  nation 
into  two  hostile  camps  and  plunged  the  country  into 
a  series  of  civil  wars.  Spain  sympathized  with  and 
aided  the  Catholic  party;  Philip  II.  urging  upon  France 
the  policy  of  extermination  which  he  was  carrying  out 
in  the  Netherlands.  England  and  the  Netherlands 
sympathized  with  and  aided  the  Protestants,  the  latter 
country  sending  her  immortal  Prince  of  Orange  to 
take  the  field.  It  was  a  struggle  great  and  memo- 
rable, both  in  the  principles  at  stake  and  in  the  distin- 
guished leaders  on  each  side.  It  was  the  genius, 
heroism,  and  godly  enthusiasm  of  the  Bourbon  and  the 
Coligni  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Machiavellian  craft, 
intrigue,  and  devilish  hate  of  the  Guise  and  the 
Medici  on  the  other. 

Wars  follow  each  other  in  rapid  succession. 
"Blood  toucheth  blood."  The  fields  Dreux,  St. 
Denis,  Jarnac,  Moncontour,  and  Arnay  le  Due  ren- 
dered  the  valor  of  the  Huguenots  historic.  Conde 
and  D'Andelot  are  dead  on  the  field.  Then  there 
comes  a  lull  in  the  din  of  battle,  a  short  respite  from 
war.  Negotiations  are  going  on  concerning  a  mar- 
riage alliance  which  is  to  unite  the  two  parties  and 
give  lasting  peace  to  France.  The  Admiral  Coligni 
is  invited  to  the  court,  and   has  repeated   interviews 


26  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

with  the  young  king  Charles  IX.  He  urges  upon 
Charles  the  policy  of  uniting  France  and  the  Nether- 
lands in  an  alliance  against  Spain.  Catharine,  the 
queen-mother,  on  the  other  hand,  used  all  the  witchery 
of  her  power  to  thwart  that  policy  and  to  poison  the 
mind  of  Charles  against  Coligni. 

One  loves  to  dream  of  the  results  that  would  have 
attended  the  policy  of  Coligni.  France  Protestant 
and  in  alliance  with  the  Netherlands,  and  the  allied 
armies  of  the  two  countries  led  by  such  men  as  the 
Prince  of  Orange  and  Coligni  !  What  a  different  his- 
tory of  Europe  would  we  be  reading  to-day,  and  what 
a  different  map  of  Europe  would  our  children  be 
studying  to-day  ! 

The  Admiral  Coligni  was  at  this  time  the  head  and 
soul  of  the  Huguenot  party.  He  had  gained  the  ear, 
and  by  his  frank,  high-toned  Christian  chivalry  was 
rapidly  winning  the  heart,  of  King  Charles.  The 
queen-mother,  her  son  the  duke  of  Anjou,  and  the 
young  duke  of  Guise  took  the  alarm.  Charles  must 
be  rescued  from  the  potent  influence  of  Coligni  at  all 
hazards,  and  these  three  spirits  balk  at  nothing  that 
will  further  their  plans.  They  resolved  upon  the 
assassination  of  the  admiral,  but  through  unsteadiness 
of  aim  the  assassin  only  succeeded  in  severely  wound- 
ing him.  The  conspirators  had  hoped  to  destroy  the 
Huguenots  by  striking  down  their  illustrious  chief- 
tain. In  this  they  were  foiled.  They  then  deter- 
mined to  compass  their  ends  by  a  general  massacre, 
which  was  to  begin  with  the  Huguenot  nobility  then 
assembled  in  Paris  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of 
the  gallant  Henry  of  Navarre  with  the  sister  of 
Charles    IX.     The   beginning   being   made   in    Paris, 


JOHN     KNOX.  27 

the  massacre  was  to  become  general  throughout  the 
provinces. 

Catharine,  with  all  the  magic  power  which  she 
exercised  over  her  children,  and  with  all  her  con- 
summate Medicean  art,  began  to  work  upon  the  king 
to  wrest  from  him  the  fatal  order.  She  appealed,  in 
turn,  to  every  motive  and  passion.  With  exquisite 
skill  she  touched  every  spring  of  his  being— his  fears, 
his  suspicions,  his  pride,  his  vindictiveness,  his  vanity, 
his  jealousy,  until,  maddened,  frenzied,  in  a  delirium 
of  rage,  vexation,  and  mortification,  he  exclaimed,  with 
a  horrible  oath,  that  since  they  thought  it  right  to  kill 
the  admiral,  he  was  determined  that  every  Huguenot 
in  France  should  perish  with  him,  so  that  not  one 
should  be  left  to  reproach  him  with  the  crime. 

This  happened  an  hour  before  midnight.  Arrange- 
ments were  instantly  completed  for  the  murdering  to 
begin  the  next  morning.  The  signal  was  to  have 
been  given  from  the  great  bell  of  the  Palace  of  Justic, 
at  daybreak,  but  Catharine,  in  her  impatience  and 
nervousness,  ordered  the  tocsin  to  be  sounded  from 
the  belfry  of  a  neighboring  church  an  hour  and  a 
half  earlier.  Then  Catharine  and  her  two  sons, 
Charles  IX.  and  the  duke  of  Anjou,  stole  to  a  window 
of  the  Louvre  and  tremblingly  peered  into  the  dark 
and  quiet  streets.  All  was  as  still  as  death  until  they 
were  startled  by  a  single  pistol  shot.  A  sudden  spasm 
of  remorse  seized  the  guilty  trio,  and  they  sent  word 
to  Guise  that  he  should  proceed  no  further  with  the 
massacre.  But  it  was  too  late.  Guise,  with  his  leash 
of  sleuth-hounds,  was  already  well  on  his  way  to  the 
hotel  of  the  admiral.  The  soldiers  who  had  been 
stationed  to  guard  the  hotel  betrayed  their  trust,  and 


28  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

became  the  eager  accomplices  of  the  murderers. 
Awakened  by  the  noise  at  the  gate  and  in  the  halls, 
Coligni,  yet  weak  from  wounds,  had  risen  from  his 
bed,  had  thrown  around  him  his  dressing-gown  and 
was  sitting  in  an  arm-chair  when  the  assassins  en- 
tered. He  did  not  move.  There  was  not  the  tremor 
of  a  muscle.  There  was  not  the  quiver  of  a  nerve. 
He  looked  into  the  faces  of  those  desperadoes  as 
calmly  as  though  they  had  been  his  children  coming 
to  kiss  him  good-night,  and  regarded  their  naked 
swords  and  daggers  with  as  much  composure  as 
though  they  had  been  the  arms  of  his  mother  ex- 
tended to  embrace  him.  One  of  the  most  desperate 
of  these  desperate  men  was  wont  to  say  that  he  had 
never  seen  man  meet  death  with  such  constancy  and 
firmness. 

The  assassins  made  swift  and  thorough  work  of  it. 
In  the  court  below,  Guise  and  a  few  of  kindred  spirit 
sat  upon  their  horses.  Up  from  the  horsemen  comes 
the  eager,  impatient  cry  :  ^'  Have  you  done  it  ?"  "  It 
is  over,"  was  the  reply  that  dropped  from  the  window. 
Again  comes  up  the  cry  :  "  But  here  is  Guise,  who 
will  not  believe  it  unless  he  sees  it  with  his  own  eyes. 
Throw  him  out  of  the  window."  And  the  gashed 
body  of  the  best  and  the  greatest  man  then  in  France 
was  thrown  down  upon  the  pavement  of  the  court 
beneath  as  though  it  had  been  the  carcass  of  a  dog. 
Not  yet  satisfied,  Guise  dismounted,  stooped  down, 
and  in  the  darkness  of  the  early  morning  peered  into 
the  face  of  the  dead  hero.  The  face  being  bloody 
beyond  recognition,  Guise  coolly  took  his  handker- 
chief from  his  pocket,  wiped  the  blood  from  the 
features,  and  again  scrutinized  them  narrowly.     "  'Tis 


JOHN    KNOX.  29 

he.  I  know  him,"  he  said,  and  as  he  rose  gave  the 
body  a  kick,  then  vaulting  into  his  saddle,  and  shout- 
ing, '*  Courage,  soldiers  !  We  have  made  a  good  be- 
ginning. Now  for  the  others  !  "  he  galloped  from  the 
court-yard. 

The  blood  of  the  great,  the  good,  the  immortal 
Coligni  was  the  first  that  was  shed  in  this  awful 
massacre.  His  body  was  afterward  subjected  to 
every  indignity  and  insult  which  satanic  malignity 
and  ingenuity  could  suggest. 

The  preparations  and  arrangements  for  the  mas- 
sacre were  extensive,  elaborate,  and  complete.  They 
were  made  by  those  who  had  a  genius  for  laying 
snares  and  weaving  nets  and  setting  traps  and  achiev- 
ing success  in  murder  on  a  grand  scale.  Ever  since 
the  great  procession  of  expiation  under  Francis  I., 
the  people  of  France  had  been  undergoing  a  continu- 
ous education  which  was  fitting  them  to  become  ac- 
tors in  tragedies  of  horror.  The  inflammable  popu- 
lace of  Paris  were  as  ripe  for  a  carnival  of  blood  as 
tinder  is  ready  for  a  spark.  The  houses  of  the  Hu- 
guenots were  all  marked.  The  papists  had  as  a 
badge  a  strip  of  white  linen  round  the  arm  and  a 
white  cross  in  the  cap,  while  in  the  windows  of  their 
houses  flambeaux  were  burning  for  the  double  purpose 
of  designation  and  of  giving  light  to  the  murderers  in 
the  streets.  The  signal  was  sounded  from  every 
steeple  in  the  city.  "  Kill  !  kill  !  Down  with  the 
Huguenots  !  Down  with  the  Huguenots  !  "  were  the 
watchwords.  Suddenly  Paris  was  converted  into  hell. 
The  halls  and  staircases  of  the  Louvre  were  slippery 
with  the  best  and  noblest  blood  in  France.  There 
was  no  more  pity  for  the  toothless  babe  than  for  the 


30  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

bearded  man.  Dead  and  dying  bodies  rained  from 
the  windows.  In  some  cases  blood  reached  the  shoe- 
latchets.  But  I  draw  a  veil  over  the  horrible,  sicken- 
ing details. 

Fast  as  couriers  could  carry  the  news,  the  hellish 
contagion  spread  throughout  the  provinces.  In  each 
city  and  town  and  village  the  scenes  of  Paris  were 
repeated,  until,  according  to  some  estimates,  as  many 
as  one  hundred  thousand  were  slain.  And  certainly  it 
will  not  lessen  our  sad  interest  in  this  awful  tragedy  to 
know  that  the  victims  of  it  were  Presbyterians  in 
doctrine,  worship,  and  discipline. 

When  the  news  reached  Spain,  Philip  II.  was 
beside  himself  with  joy.  He  regarded  the  massacre 
as  the  highest  possible  exemplification  of  Christian 
virtue.  At  Rome  the  Pope  and  cardinals  went  in 
state  to  church  and  had  Te  Deums  sung  and  masses 
said  in  honor  of  the  event  ;  and  genius,  in  the  person 
of  Vasari,  was  employed  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
it  by  a  painting  on  the  walls  of  the  Sistine  chapel,  and 
there,  on  those  walls,  stands  that  painting,  the  damn- 
ing evidence  of  the  Pope's  complicity  in  the  massacre. 
A  medal  was  also  struck  to  commemorate  the  event. 
But  when  the  news  reached  England  the  court  went 
into  mourning,  and  Queen  Elizabeth  did  herself  and 
her  nation  immortal  honor  by  administering  a  sting- 
ing rebuke  to  Charles  IX.  through  his  ambassador. 
When  the  news  reached  Edinburgh,  Knox  was  over- 
whelmed with  grief,  because  many  of  his  personal 
friends  had  been  slaughtered.  Once  more  the  old 
man  was  carried  to  the  pulpit  and  lifted  into  it,  and 
then  he  poured  out  the  red-hot  lava  of  his  indignation 
against  the   perpetrators  of  the  hellish   outrage,  and 


JOHN    KNOX.  31 

denounced  the  judgments  of  heaven  against  the  cruel 
murderer  and  false  traitor,  the  king  of  France,  con- 
signing him  to  the  eternal  "  execrations  of  posterity 
to  come."  This  was  one  of  his  last  public  services. 
After  this  he  preached  the  installation  sermon  of 
his  colleague  and  successor  in  the  Tolbooth  church. 
That  was  his  last  public  service. 

In  devout  meditation,  in  hearing  God's  word,  in 
joyously  entertaining  his  friends — for  Knox  was  emi- 
nently a  genial  and  social  man — in  counseling  his 
session  and  his  colleague,  in  trying  to  reclaim  Kirk- 
caldy of  Grange,  in  solemnly  admonishing  Morton, 
who  was  about  becoming  regent,  in  taking  affection- 
ate leave  of  relatives  and  friends — the  few  days  that 
remained  to  him  on  earth  were  occupied.  With  ex- 
clamations and  ejaculations  dripping  with  the  very 
myrrh  of  the  Gospel  constantly  on  his  lips,  he  lay 
waiting  till  "  God's  work  was  done."  With  a  clear 
intellect  and  an  unclouded  spirit  he  triumphantly 
ended  his  "long  and  paneful  battel." 

In  the  middle  of  a  paved  street  in  Edinburgh  the 
passer-by  reads,  upon  a  square  stone,  this  inscription  : 

J.   K. 
1572. 

Beneath  that  spot,  over  which  now  trundles  the 
commerce  of  a  great  city,  were  once  laid  the  remains 
of  him  who    ''  never  feared  the  face  of  man." 

He  has  been  dead  these  three  hundred  years. 
During  all  this  time  history  has  been  busy  with  his 
life  and  his  character.  These  have  been  fiercely 
assailed   and    eloquently  defended.     For   three   cen- 


32  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

turies  his  work  has  been  speaking  for  him  with  ever- 
increasing  volume  of  meaning  and  of  eloquence.  He 
needs  no  other  monument.  He  needs  no  other 
apology. 

He  is  charged  with  rudeness  and  coarseness  toward 
the  elegant  lady,  Mary  Stuart,  queen  of  Scots,  but 
there  is  absolutely  nothing  in  the  records  to  justify 
such  a  charge.  He  was  firm — firm  as  the  Pentland 
Hills  ;  he  was  inflexible — inflexible  as  the  fully-devel- 
oped,  storm-strengthened  oak  ;  and  having  learned, 
as  he  tells  us,  from  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  to  "call 
wickedness  by  its  own  terms,  a  fig  a  fig,  and  a  spade  a 
spade,"  he  did  speak  in  all  plainness  as  both  his  "  vo- 
cation and  conscience  craved,"  but  always  with  dig- 
nity and  courtesy,  nevertheless.  With  some  soft  sen- 
timentalists it  is  an  unpardonable  offence  that  he 
should  have  made  Mary  weep  and  "  shed  never  a  tear 
himself."  Hear  his  own  defence  :  "  Madam,  in  God's 
presence  I  speak  ;  I  never  delighted  in  the  weeping 
of  any  of  God's  creatures — yea,  I  can  scarcely  abide 
the  tears  of  my  own  boys,  whom  my  own  hand  cor- 
rects, much  less  can  I  rejoice  in  your  Majesty's  weep- 
ing ;  but  seeing  that  I  have  offered  you  no  just  occa- 
sion to  be  offended,  but  have  spoken  the  truth,  as  my 
vocation  craves  of  me,  I  must  sustain,  albeit  unwill- 
ingly, your  Majesty's  tears  rather  than  I  dare  hurt 
my  conscience  or  betray  my  commonwealth  through 
my  silence."  If  that  be  coarseness,  perpetual  thanks- 
givings to  God  that  John  Knox  had  the  grace  to  use 
it !  "  Better,"  said  Regent  Morton,  "  that  women 
weep  than  that  bearded  men  be  forced  to  weep." 

But  I  submit  that  such  a  man  as  this  is  not  to  be 
measured  by  the  rules  of  etiquette  or  by  the  laws  of 


JOHN    KNOX.  33 

gallantry.  Knox  had  more  serious  business  than 
playing  the  courtier.  Every  time  that  he  stood  be- 
fore Queen  Mary  he  carried  the  spiritual  destiny  of 
millions  on  the  tip  of  his  tongue.  He  was  there  to 
defend  truth  which  had  taken  hold  of  every  fibre  of 
his  being.  He  might  have  pleased  Mary,  but  by 
doing  so  he  would  have  betrayed  the  cause  of  Prot- 
estantism in  Scotland,  and  that  would  have  involved 
the  cause  of  Protestantism  in  England.  So  long 
as  Elijah  the  Tishbite  and  John  the  Baptist  need 
no  apology  for  coarseness,  John  Knox  shall  need 
none. 

But  suppose  he  had  faults  ?  They  are  but  specks 
on  the  surface  of  the  sun.  The  sun  makes  the  earth 
rich  in  all  beauty  and  fertility,  notwithstanding, 
and  Knox  made  Scotland  "blossom  as  the  rose." 
"  Knox  is  the  one  Scotchman  to  whom  of  all  others 
his  country  and  the  world  owe  a  debt,"  says  the  weird 
hero-worshipper,  Thomas  Carlyle. 

''  It  was  not  for  nothing  that  John  Knox  had  for 
ten  years  preached  in  Edinburgh  and  his  words  had 
been  echoed  from  a  thousand  pulpits.  His  was  the 
voice  which  taught  the  peasant  of  the  Lothians  that 
he  was  a  freeman,  the  equal  in  the  sight  of  God  with 
the  proudest  peer  or  prelate  that  had  trampled  on  his 
forefathers.  The  murders,  the  adulteries,  the  Both- 
well  scandals,  and  other  monstrous  games  which  had 
been  played  before  Heaven  there  since  the  return  of 
the  queen  from  France,  had  been  like  whirlwinds  fan- 
ning the  fires  of  the  new  teaching.  Princes  and  lords 
only  might  have  noble  blood,  but  every  Scot  had  a 
soul  to  be  saved,  a  conscience  to  be  outraged  by  these 
enormous  doings,  and  an  arm  to  strike  with  in  revenge 


34  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

for  them.  Elsewhere  the  plebeian  element  of  nations 
had  risen  to  power  through  the  arts  and  industries 
which  make  men  rich  ;  the  commons  of  Scotland 
were  sons  of  their  religion,  while  the  nobles  were 
splitting  into  factions,  taking  securities  for  their  for- 
tunes, or  entangling  themselves  in  political  intrigues  ; 
the  tradesmen,  the  mechanics,  the  poor  tillers  of  the 
soil,  had  sprung  suddenly  into  consciousness  with 
spiritual  convictions  for  which  they  were  prepared  to 
live  or  die.  The  fear  of  God  in  them  left  no  room 
for  the  fear  of  any  other  thing,  and  in  the  very  fierce 
intolerance  which  Knox  had  poured  into  their  veins 
they  had  become  a  force  in  the  state.  The  poor 
clay  which,  a  generation  earlier,  the  haughty  baron 
would  have  trodden  into  slime,  had  been  heated  red 
hot  in  the  furnace  of  a  new  faith."*  Thus  historians 
who  have  no  sympathy  with  Knox's  creed  are  con- 
strained to  recognize  the  inestimable  value  of  his 
work  and  his  teachings.  Such  services  as  he  rendered 
to  his  country  and  to  the  world  might  condone  for  a 
little  rudeness  in  the  presence  of  a  woman  whom  he 
believed  to  be,  and  whom  history  has  adjudged  to  be, 
a  murderess. 

He  is  charged,  moreover,  with  intolerance.  But  of 
what  was  he  intolerant  ?  Of  error  and  corruption 
that  were  rank  and  pestiferous,  of  tyranny  which 
treated  the  soul  of  man  as  a  mere  plaything  of  kings, 
lords,  and  prelates.  He  did  well  to  be  intolerant. 
He  could  have  done  nothing  less,  and  have  remained 
a  true  man.  His  intolerance  consisted  simply  in  his 
carrying  out  unflinchingly  the  only  principles  upon 
which  a  reformation  worthy  of  the  name  could  have 
been  achieved  in  Scotland. 

*  Froude. 


JOHN    KNOX.  35 

His  Presbyterian  ism  was  not  derived  from  Geneva. 
He  did  not  learn  it  from  John  Calvin.  He  found  it 
where  Ulrich  Zwinglius  found  his  Presbyterianism — 
in  his  Greek  Testament.  He  made  the  discoverv 
when  he  was  teaching-  his  "  bairns  "  at  Langniddrie. 
His  views  on  this  subject  were  fully  matured  when  he 
was  in  England,  before  he  had  ever  seen  Calvin.  And 
so  strong  were  his  convictions  on  the  subject  that  the 
offer  of  a  bishopric  could  not  tempt  him  to  modify  his 
policy  in  the  slightest.  He  and  those  who  aided  him 
in  preparing  the  Book  of  Discipline,  as  Row  said, 
"took  not  their  example  from  any  Kirk  in  the  world — 
no,  not  from  Geneva — but  drew  their  plan  from  the 
sacred  Scriptures."  Knox,  therefore,  could  make  no 
compromise  with  popery  without  a  total  betrayal  of 
principles  in  defence  of  which  he  counted  not  his  life 
dear  unto  him. 

And  this  Presbyterian  system  of  doctrine  and 
government  is  the  strongest  and  safest  defence  against 
popery  that  has  ever  been  reared.  Knox  detected 
the  weakness  of  the  English  Reformation.  Events 
have  amply  justified  his  fears  and  vindicated  his 
views.  The  Anglican  Church  has,  in  a  measure  at 
least,  become  a  training-camp  for  the  papacy.  In  the 
great  reaction  against  the  Reformation  which  was 
directed  by  the  Jesuits,  Presbyterianism  saved  Prot- 
estantism. It  formed  a  bulwark  against  which  the 
maddened  waves  beat  and  dashed  and  broke  in  vain. 
Had  Knox  faltered  in  Scotland,  Protestantism  would 
have  been  swept  from  England  as  the  'whirlwind 
sweeps  dry  leaves  from  the  highway. 

The  time  may  not  be  far  distant  when  the  decisive 
struggle  will  be  between  the  armies  of  Antichrist   and 


^6  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  compact  and  serried  hosts  of  this  our  beloved  Pres- 
byterianism.  Contemplating,  therefore,  the  life  of 
Knox,  one  of  the  grandest  ever  lived  on  this  foot- 
stool of  God,  and  catching  inspiration  and  enthu- 
siasm from  our  theme,  let  us  close  up  our  ranks  and 
stand  firm,  ready  to  repel  assault  or  to  charge  to 
victory. 


IL 

PRESBYTERIANISM  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  FROM  THE  ADOPTION  OF 
THE  FORM  OF  GOVERNMENT  TO  THE 
PRESENT    TIME. 


II. 

PRESBYTERIANISM  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  FROM  THE  ADOPTION  OF 
THE  FORM  OF  GOVERNxMENT  TO  THE 
PRESENT  TIME.* 

American  Independence  has  been  achieved.  The 
Colonies  have  taken  their  place  as  free  and  inde- 
pendent states  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  In 
bringing  about  this,  the  most  momentous  political 
event  of  the  last  century,  the  ministry  and  laity  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  bore  an  essential  and  a  con- 
spicuous part.  These  men  were  the  descendants  of 
the  Huguenots  whose  blood,  shed  in  the  cause  of 
religious  freedom,  had  baptized  almost  every  acre  of 
France  ;  of  the  Dutch,  who,  under  William  the  Silent, 
had  struggled  and  fought  against  civil  and  religious 
despotism  amidst  the  dikes  of  Holland  ;  of  the  Scotch- 
men who  signed  the  Covenant  with  the  warm  blood 
of  their  veins,  and  who  had  fought  to  the  death  under 
the  blue  banner  of  that  Covenant  ;  of  the  heroes 
whose  valor  at  Londonderry  turned  the  scale  in  favor 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  secured  the  Protes- 
tant succession  in  England — sons  of  the  women  who, 
during  that  memorable  siege,  carried  ammunition  to 
the  soldiers,  and  in  the  crisis  of  the  assault  sprang 

*At  the  Centennial  Celebration  in  Philadelphia,  June,  1876,  by 
appointment  of  the  General  Assembly. 


40  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

to  the  breach,  hurled  back  the  assailants,  and  turned 
the  tide  of  battle  in  the  critical,  imminent  moment  of 
the  conflict. 

These  were  not  the  men  to  be  dazzled  by  specious 
pretexts,  or  to  stand  nicely  balancing  arguments  of 
expediency,  when  issues  touching  human  freedom 
were  at  stake.  These  were  not  the  men  to  barter 
away  their  birthright  for  pottage.  They  who  had 
endured  so  much  in  the  cause  of  freedom  in  the  Old 
World,  who,  for  its  sake,  had  left  all  and  braved  the 
perils  of  the  ocean  to  seek  a  refuge  in  the  forests  of 
an  unbroken  wilderness,  were  not  the  men  tamely  to 
submit  their  necks  to  the  yoke,  how  smoothly  soever 
it  might  be  fitted  for  them  by  the  deft  hands  of  king, 
Church,  or  Parliament.  Consequently,  the  Presby- 
terians in  the  Colonies  were  almost  to  a  man,  and  to 
a  woman,  patriots  "  indeed,  in  whom  there  was  no 
guile." 

In  a  Presbyterian  community  not  far  from  the  spot 
where  the  first  blood  of  the  Revolution  was  shed,  in 
a  Presbyterian  convention  which  had  for  its  presid- 
ing officer  a  ruling  elder,  was  framed  and  promul- 
gated the  Mecklenburg  Declaration,  which  embodied 
the  spirit  and  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  which  antedates  that  document 
by  the  space  of  a  year  and  more  ;  and  even  earlier 
than  this,  within  the  bounds  of  old  Redstone  Presby- 
tery, the  "  Westmoreland  Declaration,"  was  made  at 
Hanna's  Town,  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

None  in  all  the  land  better  understood  the  nature 
of  the  struggle,  or  more  thoroughly  appreciated  the 
importance  of  the  issue,  than  those  men.  They  saw 
in  the  impending  conflict  more  than  a  tax  on  tea  or 


PRESBYTERIAXISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         4I 

a  penny  stamp  on  paper — more  even  than  "  taxation 
without  representation."  In  addition  to  political 
tyranny  they  perceived  the  ominous  shadow  of 
spiritual  despotism,  which  threatened  to  darken  the 
land  to  which  they  had  fled  as  an  asylum,  and  they 
esteemed  their  fortunes  and  their  lives  a  cheap 
sacrifice  at  which  to  purchase  for  their  posterity  in 
succeeding  generations  the  blessings  of  religious 
freedom. 

Into  the  struggle,  therefore,  they  threw  themselves 
heart  and  soul.  With  enthusiastic  devotion,  they  put 
at  the  service  of  their  country  the  last  penny  of  their 
substance  and  the  last  drop  of  their  blood.  Wherever 
a  Presbyterian  Church  was  planted,  wherever  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  found  adherents, 
wherever  the  Presbyterian  polity  was  loved  and 
honored,  there  intelligent  and  profound  convictions 
in  regard  to  civil  and  religious  liberty  were  developed 
as  naturally  as  the  oak  grows  from  the  acorn,  and 
there,  when  the  crisis  came,  strong  arms  and  stout 
hearts  formed  an  invulnerable  bulwark  for  the  cause 
of  human  freedom.  As  the  Spartan  defended  his 
shield,  as  the  Roman  legions  fought  for  their  eagles, 
as  a  chivalrous  knight  leaped  to  the  rescue  of  his 
sweetheart,  so  our  Presbyterian  ancestors,  with  a 
prodigal  valor  and  an  unquenchable  ardor,  sprang  to 
the  defence  of  their  sacred  rights. 

An  adequate  history  of  their  services,  their  sacri- 
fices and  their  sufferings  has  never  been  written,  and, 
alas  !  never  can  be  written  now.  No  monuments 
have  been  left  from  which  such  a  history  can  be  com- 
piled. In  the  pulpit,  in  the  halls  of  the  provincial 
and    the    Continental    Congresses,    in   the    army   as 


42  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

chaplains  and  as  soldiers,  the  ministers  rendered 
invaluable  service  by  their  eloquence,  their  wisdom, 
their  learning,  their  courage,  and  their  example,  while 
the  laity  took  into  the  ranks  a  heroism  as  stalwart 
as  that  of  the  Ironsides  of  Cromwell.  Presbyterian 
blood  from  shoeless  feet  tracked  the  snow  at  Valley 
Forge.  From  the  Schuylkill  to  the  Chartiers  pulpits 
rang  with  utterances  which  were  at  once  scriptural 
and  patriotic,  and  which  were  so  sound  and  fearless 
and  inspiring  that  they  deserve  to  take  rank  in  the 
series  of  kindred  testimonies  in  the  Scottish  Church 
borne  by  such  men  as  Knox,  Buchanan,  Rutherford, 
Brown  of  Wamphry,  Cargill,  and  Renwick.  These 
utterances  embodied  principles  which,  emanating 
from  the  republic  of  Geneva,  consecrated  by  the 
holiest  blood  of  Scotland,  sheltered  and  defended  by 
more  than  Spartan  heroism  and  endurance  in  the 
forests  of  America,  now  underlie  the  institutions  of 
every  free  government  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth. 
Republicanism  is  Presbyterianism  in  the  state  ;  so 
that  in  the  victory  of  our  revolutionary  forefathers 
there  was  a  triumph  of  principles  in  defence  of  which 
our  ancestors  in  the  ecclesiastical  line  had  for  genera- 
tions poured  out  their  blood  like  water.  These  prin- 
ciples could  find  no  hospitable  or  congenial  home  in 
Europe,  and  had  fled  for  refuge  to  the  great  ocean- 
bound  wilderness  as  their  last  hiding-place.  A  few 
half-clad,  half-starved,  and  not  half-equipped  regi- 
ments of  provincial  militia  bore  the  ark  which  con- 
tained the  charter  of  freedom  for  the  nations.  They 
bore  it  bravely  and  well,  and  when  the  clouds  of  war 
drifted  away,  lo  !  there  stood  on  these  shores,  dis- 
closed to  the  gaze  of   the  world,  a  Christian   republic 


PRESBVTERIANISM    IN     THE    UNITED    STATES.         43 

which,  as  a  pharos,  flings  its  light  across  the  ocean  to 
guide  the  footsteps  of  nations  in  the  path  of  liberty, 
of  progress,  and  of  universal  brotherhood.  Every 
civilized  nation  on  the  globe  has  felt  the  throb  of  our 
free  life.  Over  the  ark  of  our  liberties  dwells  the 
political  shekinah  of  the  world,  to  which  all  the  op- 
pressed shall  look,  and  guided  by  which  they  shall 
at  last  be  led  into  a  large  and  goodly  Canaan  of  civil 
and  religious  freedom. 

But  the  war  is  over.  The  transcendent  achieve- 
ment has  been  won.  After  seven  years  of  fierce  and 
bitter  struggle,  dove-eyed  Peace  has  spread  over  the 
land  her  shadowing  wings,  dripping  with  celestial 
benedictions.  The  inchoate  elements  of  national  life 
have  crystallized  into  a  compact  and  symmetrical 
republican  government.  The  colonies  have  become 
States,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  has 
been  adopted. 

Owmg  to  their  pronounced  and  intense  patriotism 
during  the  war,  the  Presbyterian  ministers  and 
churches  had  borne  the  brunt  of  the  fury  of  the 
enemy.  Pastors  were  driven  away  from  their  flocks, 
churches  were  turned  into  barracks  or  stables,  and  in 
many  instances  were  torn  down  or  burned.  Congre- 
gations left  without  pastors,  and  exposed  to  all  the 
deleterious  influences  of  war,  were  scattered  as  sheep 
without  a  shepherd.  Many  churches  could  adopt  the 
refrain  of  the  prophet  :  "  Zion  is  a  wilderness,  Jerusa- 
lem a  desolation.  Our  holy  and  our  beautiful  house, 
where  our  fathers  praised  thee,  is  burned  up  with  fire, 
and  all  our  pleasant  things  are  laid  waste." 

But  as  soon  as  the  sword  was  returned  to  its  scab- 
bard  the  Church    addressed   herself   to  the  task  of 


44  OCCASIONAI,    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

restoring  her  broken  walls,  building  up  her  waste 
places,  and  gathering  her  scattered  sheep  to  the  fold 
again.  With  a  sublime  faith  and  an  unerring  intuition 
she  divined  the  future  greatness  of  the  nation,  and 
hastened  to  make  such  adjustments  in  her  polity  and 
organization  as  would  enable  her  to  meet  worthily 
present  and  prospective  responsibilities. 

The  complete  constitution  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  containing 
the  Confession  of  Faith,  the  catechisms,  the  govern- 
ment and  discipline,  and  the  directory  for  the  worship 
of  God,  was  finally  ratified  and  adopted  by  the  Synod 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  in  the  year  1788  ;  and 
at  the  same  meeting  the  necessary  steps  were  taken 
toward  the  formation  of  a  General  Assembly  by  divid- 
ing the  synod  into  four  synods,  and  by  ordering  that 
a  General  Assembly,  constituted  out  of  the  ''  said  four 
synods,"  should  meet  in  Philadelphia  in  May  of  the 
following  year. 

Thus  organized  and  equipped  the  Church  stands 
abreast  of  the  new  era,  "  her  loins  girt  about  with 
truth,  her  feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel 
of  peace,"  in  her  hand  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,"  and 
with  her  feet  set  toward  the  west. 

The  first  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  met  in  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia on  May  21,  1789,  and  was  opened,  according  to 
the  appointment  of  synod,  with  a  sermon  by  Dr. 
Witherspoon. 

In  fancy  let  us  visit  this  small  but  august  body  of 
men. 

In  the  moderator's  chair  is  the  courtly  Dr.  Rodgers, 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         45 

and  at  the  clerk's  table  sits  the  chivalrous  Duffield— 
whose   ancestors,   reaching  America  by  way  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  and  Ireland,  had  their  Huguenot  blood 
enriched  with  Puritanic  and  Covenanting  ingredients 
—who  during  the  war  had  preached    under   fire,  and 
who,  along  with  Beatty,  had   braved  the  perils  of  the 
wilderness  in  crossing  the  Alleghenies,  in  order  to  set 
up  the  standard  of   Presbyterianism  on  the  banks  of 
the  Monongahela,  the   Allegheny,  and  the  Ohio,  and 
to  proffer  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians 
on  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum.     On  the  floor  is  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  of  distinguished  presence  and  of  still 
more  distinguished  achievement  ;  the  eminent  divine, 
the  able  statesman,  the  pure  and  valiant  patriot,  who 
shone  alike  conspicuously  in  the  pulpit,  on  the   floor 
of  Congress,  and  in  the  president's  chair  ;  in  whose 
veins  ran  the  blood  of  John  Knox,  and  whose  whole 
life   proved   him  to  be  a   worthy  descendant  of   the 
great  Scottish  Reformer.      Beside  him,  and  coming 
from  the  same  presbytery  (New  Brunswick),  and  des- 
tined to  be  his  successor   in  the  presidency  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey,  is  the   eloquent  and  learned 
Dr.  Sunhope  Smith,  the  founder  of  Hampden-Sidney 
College,  now  in  the  fullness  of  his  marvellous  powers 
and  a't  the  zenith  of  his  splendid  fame,  whose  oratory 
recalled  the  grandeur  of  Davies  and  did  not  suffer  in 
comparison  with  that  of  Patrick  Henry. 

There,  too,  is  the  polyhistoric,  the  encyclopedic 
scholar,  the  profound  divine,  the  accomplished  prov- 
ost of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Dr.  Ewing, 
who  on  an  hour's  notice  could  lecture  on  any  subject 
in  the  curriculum  of  the  university,  who  was  the  peer 
of  Rittenhouse  in  mathematics,  and  who  in  conversa- 


46  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

tion  could  keep  old  Dr.  Sam  Johnson  at  bay.  From 
Baltimore  comes  the  renowned  Dr.  Patrick  Allison, 
who  went  to  that  place  when  it  contained  only  thirty 
or  forty  houses,  and  in  a  log  hut  had  preached  to  a 
congregation  of  six  families,  but  whose  usefulness  and 
reputation  grew  with  the  growth  of  the  city,  until,  as 
a  preacher,  a  presbyter,  and  an  accomplished  and  fear- 
less controversialist,  no  one  stood  above  him,  and  of 
whom  Dr.  Stanhope  Smith  said,  "  Dr.  Allison  is 
decidedly  the  ablest  statesman  we  have  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church."  There,  too, 
is  Cooper,  one  of  the  Apostles  of  the  Cumberland 
Valley,  a  valiant  military  as  well  as  spiritual  leader  ; 
and  the  ungainly  but  saintly  Moses  Hoge  of  Vir- 
ginia, who,  destitute  of  the  natural  gifts  and  graces 
of  oratory,  so  moved  men  by  his  "  blood  earnestness  " 
that  John  Randolph  said,  "  That  man  is  the  best  of 
orators";  and  McWhorter,  who  had  been  the  chap- 
lain of  Knox's  brigade,  and  who  in  the  darkest  hour 
of  the  Revolution  hastened  to  headquarters  to  en- 
courage the  commander-in-chief  ;  and  Azel  Roe,  who 
inspired  a  cowardly  regiment  with  courage  and  then 
led  them  into  battle,  and  who  was  as  full  of  humor  as 
he  was  of  courage  and  patriotism  ;  and  Latta,  who 
with  blanket  and  knapsack  had  accompanied  mem- 
bers of  his  church  to  the  camp  and  the  battle-field  ; 
and  Dr.  Sproat,  in  the  pastorate  the  successor  of 
Gilbert  Tennent  and  the  predecessor  of  Ashbel 
Green  ;  and  Dr.  Robert  Smith,  who  at  the  age  of 
fifteen,  having  caught  the  spirit  of  Whitefield  and 
having  consecrated  all  the  strength  of  a  vigorous 
body  to  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel,  was 
abundant  in  labors,  and  with  his  hand  on  the  plough 


PRESRY'IF.RIANISM    IN    THK    UNTTKD    STATES.         47 

never  once  looked  back  ;  and  Dr.  Thomas  Read, 
whose  extensive  missionary  labors  in  the  wilds  of 
Delaware  gave  him  so  accurate  a  knowledge  of  the 
roads,  paths,  and  bypaths  of  the  region,  that  he  was 
the  only  man  who  could  extricate  Washington  and  his 
army  from  the  perilous  position  which  they  occupied 
at  Stanton,  before  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  so  that 
the  modest  pastor  of  Drawyer's  Creek  may  be  de- 
nominated the  saviour  of  his  country  ;  and  the 
genial  Dr.  Matthew  Wilson,  who  was  both  a  divine 
and  a  physician,  and  eminent  in  both  professions — 
good  men  and  true,  all  of  them,  who  had  "  endured 
hardness  as  good  soldiers"  both  in  the  cause  of 
Christ  and  for  their  country. 

In  point  of  numbers  this  Assembly  was  not  large, 
there  being  on  the  roll  only  thirty-four  commis- 
sioners, representing  thirteen  presbyteries,  but  in 
point  of  dignity,  learning,  ability,  zeal,  and  experience 
it  compares  favorably  with  any  of  its  many  illustrious 
successors.  An  able  committee,  raised  for  the  pur- 
pose, reported  fifteen  rules  for  the  government  of  the 
body,  which  have  since  been  supplemented  but  never 
improved,  so  that  substantially  these  are  the  rules  by 
which,  to  this  day,  the  General  Assembly  has  been 
governed.  Drs.  Witherspoon,  Allison,  and  Stanhope 
Smith,  the  ablest  committee  which  the  Assembly  could 
command,  drew  up  an  address  to  George  Washington, 
President  of  the  United  States,  which  address,  as  a 
document,  is  worthy  of  the  genius  and  eloquence  of 
these  three  illustrious  men,  and  which,  while  it  has 
nothing  in  it  of  the  cringing  servility  and  sycophancy 
which  are  begotten  of  the  adulterous  union  of  Church 
and  state,  is  yet,  at  the   same  time,  a   dignified  and 


48  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

loyal  acknowledgment  of  the  "  powers  that  be  "   as 
"  ordained  of  God." 

Regarding  with  apprehension  the  fact  that  many  of 
the  presbyteries  had  failed  to  send  commissioners,  and 
thoroughly  comprehending  the  importance  of  holding 
together  the  widely  separated  parts  of  the  Church  by 
a  common  bond,  and  being  as  jealous  against  schism 
as  the  Israelites  when  they  went  posting  to  Shiloh  to 
demand  of  the  trans-Jordanic  tribes  an  explanation  of 
the  altar  of  witness,  the  Assembly  adopted  a  circular 
letter  "  urging  in  the  most  earnest  manner  the  respect- 
ive synods  to  take  effectual  measures  that  all  the 
presbyteries  send  up  in  due  season  their  full  represen- 
tation," so  that  the  scattered  tribes  of  this  Israel 
might,  through  their  representatives,  appear  together 
once  a  year  before  the  Lord  at  the  sanctuary.  Nor 
was  the  deplorable  and  pitiable  condition  of  the 
frontiers  forgotten  or  neglected,  but  received,  as  it 
deserved,  most  earnest  and  solemn  attention.  On  a 
report  of  Drs.  Allison  and  Stanhope  Smith,  the  synods 
were  requested  to  recommend  to  the  General  As- 
sembly at  their  next  meeting,  two  members  well 
qualified,  to  be  employed  in  missions  on  our  frontiers, 
for  the  purpose  of  organizing  churches,  administering 
ordinances,  ordaining  elders,  collecting  information 
concerning  the  religious  state  of  these  parts,  and  pro- 
posing the  best  means  of  establishing  a  gospel  minis- 
try among  the  people  ;  and  in  order  to  provide  neces- 
sary funds  the  presbyteries  were  enjoined  to  have 
collections  made  and  forwarded  with  all  convenient 
speed.  This  action  was  in  full  accord  with  an  un- 
broken line  of  deliverances  stretching  back  to  the 
very   beginning   of   organic    Presbyterianism    in   this 


PRESBYTF.RIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         49 

country.  'I'he  Church  of  our  fathers  was  poor  of 
purse,  but  rich  in  faith  ;  and  though  ''  little  among 
the  thousands  of  Judah,"  she  had  a  heart  big  enough 
to  take  in  the  world.  From  the  first  she  has  been  a 
missionary  Church.  Woe  be  unto  her  if  she  lose  that 
spirit  ! 

Desirous,  moreover,  to  spread  the  knowledge  of 
eternal  life  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the 
Assembly  adopted  measures  by  which  to  aid  the  publi- 
cation and  dissemination  of  an  yVmerican  edition  of 
the  Bible,  thus  indicating  the  genuineness  of  their 
Protestantism  by  their  love  for  and  attachment  to  the 
Word  of  God  pure  and  simple. 

Adam  Rankin,  from  the  presbytery  of  Transylvania, 
who,  like  the  thief  in  the  Gospel,  seems  not  to  have 
"entered  by  the  door,"  but  to  have  climbed  up  some 
other  way,  brought  before  the  Assembly  a  portentous 
overture  to  the  effect  that  the  Church  had  fallen  into 
a  "  great  and  pernicious  error  in  the  public  worship 
of  God  by  disusing  Rouse's  versification  of  David's 
Psalms  and  adopting,  in  the  room  of  it.  Watts'  imita- 
tion." Mr.  Rankin  being  heard  patiently  *'  as  long 
as  he  chose  to  speak,"  which  was  at  "  great  length," 
an  able  and  judicious  committee  was  appointed  to 
confer  with  him  privately  ;  but  efforts  toward  reliev- 
ing his  mind  proving  futile,  he  was  earnestly  "  recom- 
mended to  exercise  that  Christian  charity  toward 
those  who  differed  from  him  in  their  views  on  this 
matter  which  was  exercised  toward  himself,  and  he 
was  guarded  to  be  careful  not  to  disturb  the  peace  of 
the  Church  on  this  head."  These  reasonable  and 
fraternal  recommendations  were  disregarded  by  him, 
however  ;  and  returning:  home,  by  a  fierce  and  fanati- 


50  OCCASIOXAl.    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

cal  agitation  of  the  subject,  he  produced  in  the 
Church  in  Kentuck}'  a  schism  which  for  years  entailed 
lamentable  disaster  upon  the  cause  of  Christ  in  that 
State.  The  temper  and  action  of  the  Assembly  in 
the  premises  show  that  the  policy  of  the  Church  on 
the  question  of  psalmody  was  settled. 

In  answer  to  an  overture  as  to  whether  the  "  Gen- 
eral Assembly  would  admit  to  their  communion  a 
presbytery  who  are  totally  averse  to  the  doctrine  of 
receiving,  hearing,  or  judging  of  any  appeals  from 
presbyteries  to  synods  or  from  synods  to  General 
Assemblies,  because  in  their  judgment  it  is  inconsist- 
ent with  Scripture  and  the  practice  of  the  primitive 
Church,"  it  was  said  "  that  although  they  consider  the 
right  of  appeal  from  the  decision  of  an  inferior  judi- 
cature to  a  superior  one  an  important  privilege,  which 
no  member  of  their  body  ought  to  be  deprived  of,  yet 
they  at  the  same  time  declare  that  they  do  not  desire 
any  member  to  be  active  in  any  case  which  may  be 
inconsistent  with  the  dictates  of  his  conscience." 
This  does  not  prove  or  argue  that  the  Assembly, 
which  was  almost  entirely  composed  of  Scotchmen 
and  Irishmen  or  those  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction,  held 
or  sympathized  with  lax  ecclesiastical  views,  but  it 
only  shows  that  in  peculiar  and  delicate  circumstances 
the  Assembly  acted  cautiously,  prudently,  and  chari- 
tably. It  would  have  been  marvellously  strange  if, 
after  all  her  testimony  and  all  her  sufferings  in 
defence  of  her  principles,  the  Church  should  at  this 
point  have  tamely  repudiated  these  principles.  The 
very  calmness  and  mildness  of  the  answer  rather  show 
the  firmness  of  her  convictions  and  the  strength  of 
her  position. 


PRKSBVTERIANISM    TX    THE    UNITED    S'lAJES.         5  I 

The  Church  at  this  time  consisted  of  4  synods,  16 
presbyteries,  117  ministers,  and  419  churches,  204  of 
which  were  vacant.  Single  presbyteries  embraced 
whole  States  and  indefinite  expanses  of  territories 
besides.  Pastors  had  parishes  as  large  as  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland  all  put  together. 

The  shock  of  the  French  revolution  was  felt  on 
these  shores.  Infidelity  in  France,  in  the  name  of 
liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity,  had  committed  atroc- 
ities for  which  human  speech  has  coined  no  fitting 
or  adequate  terms.  In  its  wanton,  blasphemous  im- 
piety it  had  violated  all  sanctities  ;  it  had  desecrated 
all  shrines,  it  had  trampled  upon  all  rights,  human 
and  divine  ;  it  had  christened  the  dreadest  instrument 
of  modern  times  the  ''  holy  guillotine  ";  it  had  striven 
to  quench  the  light  of  hope  in  the  heart  of  man  by 
decreeing  that  "  there  is  no  God,"  and  that  "death  is 
an  eternal  sleep  ";  it  had  wreaked  its  direst  vengeance 
on  the  living,  and  then,  hyena-like,  had  rifled  the 
grave  that  it  might  dishonor  the  bones  and  dust  of 
the  illustrious  dead.  It  has  left  its  track  on  the  page 
of  history  as  the  trail  of  a  filthy  snake,  in  orgies  of 
lust  and  in  carnivals  of  blood.  The  mephitic  atmos- 
phere of  its  licentious  and  ribald  atheism  was  wafted 
across  the  ocean,  and  threatened  to  blight  with  a 
curse  the  virgin  life  of  the  young  republic.  If  the 
principles  of  French  infidelity  had  fairly  taken  root  in 
American  soil,  they  would  have  produced  a  harvest 
of  anarchy,  lust,  and  carnage  such  as  they  had  pro- 
duced in  their  native  soil  ;  and  for  some  time  after 
the  Revolutionary  War  it  seemed  that  such  a  catas- 
trophy  as  this  awaited  the  nation. 

During  the  war  France  was  our  ally,  and  thus  the 


52  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

sympathy  between  the  two  countries  was  close  and 
responsive.  French  fashions,  French  manners,  and 
French  modes  of  thought  and  of  living  dazzled  the 
minds  of  many.  Some  of  the  leading  statesmen  of 
the  time  and  many  of  the  lower  politicians  were 
avowed  infidels.  French  infidelity  was  discussed 
around  the  camp-fires,  in  legislative  halls,  in  social 
circles,  at  the  Federal  capital,  and  in  the  backwoods 
of  remote  Western  settlements.  War,  too,  had  left  its 
dregs  and  debris  of  vice,  idleness,  drunkenness,  and 
debauchery.  The  very  air  was  heavy  with  the  poi- 
son of  deadly  error,  and  the  Church  itself  felt  its 
paralzying  influence.  Formalism,  indifference,  and 
skepticism  prevailed  among  professing  Christians, 
while  many  of  the  pastors  were  mere  "  hirelings  who 
cared  not  for  the  sheep."  The  foundations  of  re- 
ligion, morality,  and  of  social  order  seemed  to  be  giv- 
ing way.  In  view  of  this  state  of  things,  the  General 
Assembly,  in  the  year  1798,  issued  a  pastoral  letter 
which  to  this  day  sounds  like  the  blast  of  a  trumpet. 
The  letter  speaks  eloquently  and  solemnly  of  the 
"convulsions  in  Europe  "  and  of  the  ''  solemn  crisis" 
in  this  country  ;  it  points  with  alarm  to  the  '^  bursting 
storm  which  threatened  to  sweep  before  it  the  re- 
ligious principles,  institutions,  and  morals  of  the 
people  ";  it  frames  a  dreadful  indictment  against  the 
age,  charging  it  with  corruption  of  manners,  prevail- 
ing impiet}^,  horrible  profanation  of  the  Lord's  day, 
contempt  for  religion,  abounding  infidelity,  which 
assumes  a  front  of  daring  impiety  and  possesses  a 
mouth  filled  with  blasphemy  ;  and  it  declares  that 
among  ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  professors  of 
Christianity  there  was  a  degree  of  supineness,  inatten- 


PRtSBYTERIAXISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         53 

tion,  formality,  deadness,  hypocrisy,  and  pernicious 
error  which  threatened  the  dissolution  of  religious 
society.  A  dark  picture,  truly,  but  not  a  whit  darker 
than  the  subject  which  is  portrayed. 

Nor  were  such  views  and  forebodings  confined 
to  the  clergymen.  Patrick  Henry,  in  a  letter  to  his 
daughter,  says  :  "■  The  view  which  the  rising  greatness 
of  our  country  presents  to  my  eyes  is  greatly  tarnished 
by  the  general  prevalence  of  deism,  which,  with  me, 
is  but  another  name  for  vice  and  depravity." 

The  clouds  which  thus  lowered  over  the  new  States 
and  threw  their  black  shadows  of  evil  portent  far  into 
the  future  were  scattered  by  the  breath  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  going  forth  in  powerful  and  widespread  re- 
vivals of  religion.  During  the  Revolutionary  War, 
on  the  borders  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  in  a  rude 
fort  into  which  had  been  driven  the  scattered  families 
of  a  sparse  neighborhood,  and  in  which  they  were 
held  besieged  by  bloody  savages,  through  the  modest, 
earnest  conversations  of  one  layman,  the  mighty  work 
began  which  forever  settled  on  these  shores  the  issue 
as  between  the  Gospel  and  French  infidelity.  It  was 
**  an  handful  of  corn  in  the  earth,"  in  a  strange  seed- 
plot,  but  the  fruit  thereof  to-day,  in  all  these  States, 
and  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles,  "  shakes  like  Lebanon." 
"  It  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  wondrous  in  our 
eyes."  From  the  year  1781  to  the  year  1787  there 
was  an  almost  continuous  effusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  marvellous  power  upon  the  churches  in  Western 
Pennsylvania.  Souls  were  drawn  as  by  an  irresistible 
magnet  to  the  pulpit,  and  held  for  days  and  nights 
under  the  power  of  the  truth  in  its  enlightening  and 
saving  efficacy.     To  measure  the   results  of  such   a 


54  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

work  at  such  a  time,  in  a  society  which  was  in  a  for- 
mative state,  is  as  impossible  as  it  would  be  to 
estimate  the  contents  of  the  covenanted  blessings  of 
Abraham.  From  that  rude  fort  *'  their  line  is  gone 
out  through  all  the  earth." 

When  the  work  had  gone  on  for  five  years  in 
Western  Pennsylvania,  there  might  have  been  found 
beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  one  Saturday  afternoon,  in  a 
dense  forest,  a  mile  from  Hampden-Sidney  College, 
four  young  students  holding  a  prayer  meeting.  For 
the  first  time  in  their  lives  they  opened  their  lips  in 
prayer  in  the  presence  of  any  except  their  God. 
Hidden  in  the  deep  recesses  of  the  woods  they 
stammered  forth  their  broken  petitions,  but  no 
prayers  uttered  beneath  the  domes  of  grand  cathe- 
drals and  in  the  presence  of  thousands  of  rapt  wor- 
shippers were  ever  more  efficacious.  The  next  meet- 
ing of  these  students  was  appointed  in  one  of  their 
rooms  in  the  college,  and  behind  bolted  doors  and  in 
suppressed  voices  they  began  to  sing  and  pray  ;  but 
the  news  of  the  strange  proceeding  spread  rapidly 
through  the  college,  and  soon  a  mob  was  collected 
at  the  door  of  the  room,  whooping,  thumping,  swear- 
ing, and  threatening  vengeance  ;  nor  was  the  riot 
quelled  until  two  of  the  professors  appeared  upon 
the  scene  and  vigorously  exercised  their  official 
authority.  A  prayer  meeting  raised  a  riot  in  Havipden- 
Sidney  College  !  If  we  take  into  account  the  additional 
fact  that  outside  of  this  little  praying  circle  there  was 
not  a  copy  of  the  Bible  among  the  students,  we  can 
form  an  idea  of  the  degree  to  which  the  leaven  of 
infidelity  had  infected  the  minds  of  the  young  men  of 
that  generation.     From  that  little  prayer  meeting  in 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         55 

tlie  woods  began  a  precious  work  of  giaec  which 
spread  through  the  counties  south  of  the  James  River 
and  swept  up  and  down  the  great  valley  of  Virginia, 
baptizing  in  its  course  the  two  literary  institutions, 
Hampden-Sidney  College  and  Liberty  Hall  Academy, 
which  afterward  became  Washington  College,  and 
giving  to  the  ministry  such  men  as  Drury  Lacy,  with 
"  the  silver  voice  and  the  silver  hand,"  William  Hill, 
Carey  Allen,  Nash  Legrand,  James  Blythe,  John 
Lyle,  James  Turner,  and  Archibald  Alexander.  Thus 
the  proud,  vaunting  speculations  and  blasphemous 
scoffings  and  swollen  insolences  of  infidelity  were 
silenced  in  Virginia  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
exhibited  in  the  conversion  of  souls. 

Such  power  as  this  was  not  pent  up  within  State 
lines.  The  venerable  Patillo  came  up  from  North 
Carolina  to  see  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  and 
returning  home  with  mind  and  heart  aglow  finished 
his  ministry  in  a  blaze  of  religious  fervor.  A  young 
man  who  years  before  had  left  North  Carolina  in 
order  to  seek  an  education  in  Western  Pennsylvania, 
and  who  in  the  meantime  had  been  converted  under 
the  preaching  of  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  and  who  was 
among  the  first  of  those  who  were  educated  under  Dr. 
McMillan,  having  been  licensed  by  the  presbytery  of 
Redstone,  started  southward  to  visit  his  kindred,  and  on 
the  way  havmg  stopped  at  Prince  Edward  and  caught 
the  holy  contagion  of  the  revival  there,  was  the  means 
under  God  of  arousing  the  churches  from  a  deathlike 
stupor  and  of  diffusing  the  spiritual  awakening  from 
the  Dan  to  the  Catawba.  W^ith  intense  convictions, 
a  fearless  and  merciless  reprover  of  sin,  a  pitiless 
scourger   of  formality  and  hypocrisy,  with  an   impas- 


56  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

sioned  manner  and  a  voice  like  seven  trumpets,  Rev. 
James  McGready  flashed  the  terrors  of  the  law  into 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  men  until  the  stoutest 
quailed.  After  some  years  of  most  arduous  and  fruit- 
ful labor  in  North  Carolina  he  removed  to  Kentucky, 
where  his  searching,  discriminating  preaching  became 
the  means  of  the  great  awakening  in  that  State,  the 
mighty  influence  of  which,  in  a  refluent  tide,  swept 
over  Tennessee,  the  Carolinas,  Virginia,  and  Western 
Pennsylvania. 

The  revival  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  had 
brought  into  the  ministry  a  band  of  young  men  whose 
hearts  God  had  touched  in  a  signal  manner.  Never 
was  a  knight  of  the  cross  more  eager  to  encounter 
hardship  and  peril  in  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre 
from  the  hand  of  the  infidel  than  were  these  young 
soldiers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  eager  in  their  flaming  zeal 
to  engage  in  arduous  and  perilous  enterprises  for  the 
glory  of  their  Master.  In  order  to  furnish  them  a 
suitable  field,  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  in  the  year  1789, 
organized  a  com.mittee  on  missions,  which  from  year 
to  year  sent  forth  these  young  heralds  to  carry  the 
Gospel  to  destitute  places.  Among  these  went  forth 
such  men  as  Nash  Legrand,  an  Apollo  in  physical 
grace  and  proportion,  with  a  voice  whose  modulations 
were  as  pleasing  as  the  dulcet  notes  of  a  lute,  and 
*'  whose  labors  were  more  extensive  in  spreading  the 
revival  than  any  other  agent  employed  in  the  work  "; 
William  Hill,  one  of  the  immortal  four  who  held  the 
prayer  meeting  in  the  woods  at  Prince  Edward  ;  the 
eccentric,  witty,  brilliant,  genial,  and  eloquent  Carey 
Allen,  "  whom  the  common  people  heard  gladly,"  and 
whose  intense  ardor  soon  consumed  his  physical  life  ; 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IX    THE    UNITKH    STATES.         57 

Robert  Marshall,  who,  spared  through  six  hard-fought 
battles  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  to  become  a  soldier 
in  a  holier  war,  enlisted    all    the   enthusiasm    of    his 
impulsive  nature  m  the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel 
with  earnestness  and  startling  directness  ;  Archibald 
Alexander,  whom  to    name    is    to   eulogize ;  William 
Calhoun,  the  companion  of  Carey  Allen    in   his    mis- 
sionary   toils    and    perils  ;    the    brilliant,    able,  and 
scholarly  John  Poage  Campbell   (a  lineal  descendant 
of  the    seraphic  Rutherford),  whose   sledge-hammer 
logic  dashed  to  pieces  the  Pelagianism  of  Craighead, 
and  who  wielded  a  pen  which  was  at  one  time  as  keen 
as  a  Damascus  blade  and  at  another  as  terrific  and 
crushing  as  the  battle-axe  of  a  mailed   knight;   the 
praying    Rannels  ;   James   Blythe,   whose   room   had 
been    the    rendezvous    of   the    praying   students   at 
Hampden-Sidney  College  ;  and    Robert   Stuart,    the 
laborious  missionary,  the  accomplished  educator,  the 
faithful     pastor,    a    Melanchthon    in    council,    but    a 
Luther    in  battle.     Of  this  number  some  labored  in 
Virginia  and  some   went  to  Kentucky.     These  were 
the  young  guard  of   Presbyterianism,  who,  snatching 
up  the  drooping   standards  of  the  sacramental  host, 
with  a  holy  chivalry  bore  them  onward  through  teem- 
ing dangers  and  sore  privations,  to  plant  them   firmly 
and  conspicuously  on  outpost  and  picket-line.     These 
were  the  youthful  heroes  whose  clarion  voices,  tuned 
to  the  love  of  Jesus,  called  the  Church  from   out    her 
intrenchments,  in  which  she  had  for  long  been  cower- 
ing, and  made  her  aggressive  in  her  whole  mien,  atti- 
tude, and  spu-it,  and  led  her  forward  to  victories  which 
rendered  the  spiritual  opening  of  the   nineteenth  cen- 
turv  as  bright  as  "  another  morn   risen  on  mid-noon." 


58  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

The  last  century  drew  to  its  close  amidst  dense 
spiritual  darkness  in  Kentucky.  The  rapid  increase 
of  population  had  far  outstripped  the  supply  of 
ministers  and  the  multiplication  of  the  means  of  grace. 
The  labors  of  Father  Rice  and  a  few  men  of  kindred 
spirit  were  wholly  inadequate  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  times.  Amidst  the  contagious  spirit  of  land 
speculation  and  the  exciting  scenes  and  incidents  of 
border  life,  many  who  at  their  former  homes  had  been 
exemplary  Christians  forgot  their  vows,  struck  their 
colors,  and  went  over  to  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  while 
those  who,  although  not  professors,  had  been  respect- 
ers of  religion,  became  open  scoffers,  and  operi 
scoffers  grew  more  and  more  bold  in  iniquity.  Mam- 
mon, rum,  and  mad  adventure  ruled  the  hearts  of  men 
with  despotic  sway.  Infidelity,  vice,  and  irreligion 
came  in  like  a  flood,  wave  on  wave,  threatening  to 
overwhelm  and  sweep  away  the  foundations  of  all 
social,  civil,  and  ecclesiastical  institutions.  *'  The 
people  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death."  In  the 
perilous  crisis  many  of  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
grew  faint-hearted,  and  through  cowardice  or  apostasy 
betrayed  the  cause  which  they  were  sworn  to  defend. 
A  stiff  and  stark  formalism,  and  the  unhappy  contro- 
versy and  schism  on  the  subject  of  psalmody,  had  well- 
nigh  destroyed  all  piety  in  the  Church,  while  in  the 
walks  of  public  life  infidelity  prevailed,  and  among  the 
masses  abominable  and  high-handed  crime  abounded. 
Such  was  the  desperate  condition  of  things  in 
Kentucky  when  the  young  missionaries  from  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina  entered  it  and  began  to  preach 
the  Gospel  with  such  a  fulness  of  conviction  and  with 
vividness  so  awful  that  all  classes  of  men,  from  the 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN     THE    UNITED    STATES.         59 

philosophic  skeptic  to  the  red-handed  desperado, 
were  swayed  by  its  power  as  the  fields  of  headed 
grain  bend  before  the  sweep  of  the  wind  or  as  clouds 
marshal  to  the  step  of  the  storm. 

The  revival  began  in  the  year  1797  in  the  churches 
which  were  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  James 
McGready,  who  preached  the  most  vital  and  solemn 
doctrines  of  the  gospel  with  prodigious  force  and 
startling  directness.  The  religious  interest  thus 
begun,  extended  and  deepened  until,  in  the  year 
1800,  on  sacramental  occasions,  thousands  came  from 
far  and  near,  bringing  with  them  provisions  and  con- 
veniences for  temporary  lodging.  This  was  the  origin 
of  camp-meetings ;  and  when  once  inaugurated,  they 
became  a  distinctive  feature  of  the  times  and  consti- 
tuted a  marked  agency  of  the  work  as  it  was  carried 
on.  When  the  camp  was  established,  it  became,  for 
the  time  being,  the  centre  of  all  life  and  interest. 
The  plough  rusted  in  the  furrow,  the  sickle  was  hung 
up  even  in  the  time  of  harvest  ;  all  ages  and  all  classes 
swelled  the  crowds  which  poured  in  from  all  sides, 
as  the  tribes  of  Israel  converged  by  all  paths  to  the 
tabernacle.  Thousands  of  vehicles,  with  their  thou- 
sands of  neighing  horses,  filled  the  groves  and  gave 
the  appearance  of  an  army  encamped.  Men,  women, 
and  children,  old  age  with  its  staff,  the  child  with  its 
rattle,  the  invalid  with  his  bed,  the  matron  with  her 
cares,  the  maiden  in  the  freshness  of  her  beauty,  the 
young  man  in  the  glory  of  his  strength,  were  there  by 
tens  of  thousands. 

From  the  moving,  teeming  multitudes  the  hum  of 
voices  arose  like  the  distant  roar  of  the  sea.  Now 
the  volume  of  praise  arises  as  the  "  voice  of  many 


6o  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

waters,"  and  now  all  is  hushed  except  the  impassioned 
tones  of  the  preacher,  which,  magnetized  by  the 
burden  of  the  message  and  by  intensity  of  emotion, 
kindle  to  a  flame  the  hearts  of  the  breathless  throng 
as  when  the  wind  drives  to  race-horse  speed  the 
leaping  flames  on  a  dry  prairie.  The  spectacle  at 
night,  with  the  scattered  tents  and  wagons,  and  the 
multitudes  of  men,  women,  and  children,  and  horses, 
all  dimly  revealed  by  camp-fires,  torches,  lamps,  and 
candles,  and  the  deep,  dark,  silent  forest  around, 
made  up  a  scene  fit  for  a  Raphael  to  picture  in  colors 
or  for  a  Milton  to  paint  in  words.  Amidst  scenes 
and  incidents  so  wild  and  strange  and  impressive, 
with  so  many  inflammable  elements  commingling  and 
with  so  many  intense  influences  and  forces  co-operat- 
ing to  produce  the  deepest  conviction  of  sin  on  the 
one  hand  and  to  excite  the  most  ecstatic  devotion  on 
the  other,  it  need  not  be  a  matter  of  astonishment  that 
lamentable  extravagances  both  of  sentiment  and  of 
conduct  were  developed  ;  but  these  extravagances 
formed  no  essential  part  of  the  revival,  and  are  to  be 
carefully  discriminated  from  it.  Some  of  the  ablest 
and  wisest  pastors  who  were  engaged  in  the  work 
solemnly  protested  against  the  ^'  bodily  exercises  " 
and  all  their  unseemly  concomitants.  The  Lord  sent 
a  gracious  revival,  but  through  the  folly  and  vanity 
of  man  it  was  marred  and  disfigured  by  abominable 
excrescences  ;  or,  in  the  language  of  the  venerable 
Father  Rice,  "  it  was  sadly  mismanaged,  dashed  down 
and  broken  to  pieces,"  so  that  the  work  which  began 
under  auspices  so  bright  ended  in  disastrous  fanati- 
cism, heresy,  and  schism.  When  the  Spirit  of  God 
moved  the  waters  which  had  been  so  long  stagnant, 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         6l 

profuse  froth  and  scum  were  thrown  to  the  surface  in 
the  form  of  New  Lightism,  Universal  ism,  Arianism, 
and  fanaticism. 

The  New  Light  schism  in  its  brief  and  fitful  career 
swept  up  the  cast-off  skins  of  errors,  new  and  old,  as 
they  lay  strewn  along  the  track  of  time  all  the  way 
from  Gnosticism  to  Shakerism,  and  was  at  last 
merged  into  that  creedless  Babel  of  theological 
opinions  founded  by  Alexander  Campbell. 

The  widespread  religious  interest  created  a  demand 
for  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  at  the  same  time 
begat  a  desire  to  preach  the  gospel  in  the  minds  of 
many  who  had  no  academical  or  other  training  to  fit 
them  for  the  sacred  office.  The  licensing  and  ordain- 
ing such  men,  in  utter  and  high-handed  defiance  of 
the  requirements  of  the  Book  of  Discipline,  both  in 
regard  to  literary  qualifications  and  to  the  adoption 
and  subscription  of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  led  to 
the  schism  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church. 

From  these  conflicts  the  Church  emerged  greatly 
reduced  in  numbers  and  resources,  it  is  true,  but, 
nevertheless,  purer  and  more  compact  than  before. 
Amidst  the  fierce  storms  she  preserved  her  standards 
intact,  vindicated  the  cause  of  theological  education, 
resolutely  refused  to  abate  an  iota  of  the  conditions 
of  subscription  of  the  Confession,  and  demonstrated 
to  all  the  world  that  in  times  of  high-wrought  excite- 
ment it  is  safer  to  stand  on  the  rock  of  principle  than 
to  drift  with  the  eddying  currents  of  expediency. 

Notwithstanding  these  deplorable  fanaticisms, 
apostasies,  and  lamentable  schisms,  there  was  a 
genuine   and    extensive    work    of    grace   throughout 


62  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  churches  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  The 
"bodily  exercises"  were  no  part  of  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  revival  was  a  work  of  God  notwith- 
standing the  "bodily  exercises."  In  the  prolonged 
and  intense  excitement  the  infirmities  of  human 
nature  threw  to  the  surface  a  great  many  irregu- 
larities and  extraordinary  physical  phenomena  which, 
to  a  degree,  obscured  the  real  work  in  its  progress 
and  results.  The  winnowed  wheat  glides  quietly 
into  the  garner,  while  the  chaff  and  mildew  darken 
and  pollute  the  air. 

In  the  second  year  of  the  present  century  the 
revival  began  at  Cross  Roads,  in  Orange  Co., 
North  Carolina,  and  from  that  centre  radiated  its 
spiritual  quickening  light  and  power  through  a  wide 
circle.  Such  was  the  interest  in  hearing  the  gospel 
from  the  living  teacher  that  thousands,  in  the  depth  of 
winter,  stood  listening  the  livelong  day  in  drenching 
storms  of  rain,  sleet,  and  snow.  Meetings  were  con- 
tinued through  the  whole  night  to  the  breaking  of 
the  day,  and  then  were  resumed  at  nine  o'clock  on 
the  next  morning.  The  infidel,  the  scoffer,  the 
formal  professor,  the  drunkard,  the  debauchee,  the 
giddy  youth,  the  hardened  criminal,  the  learned,  the 
ignorant,  the  bond,  the  free,  the  master,  the  slave, 
were  all  brought  under  the  resistless  influence  and 
were  mafle  one  in  Christ  Jesus.  No  barriers  erected 
by  Satan  were  sufficient  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
work  ;  but  purged  to  a  great  extent  of  the  extrava- 
gances and  excrescences  which  had  been  so  prolific 
of  mischief  in  Kentucky,  it  gained  thereby  in  depth 
and  power,  and  has  left  in  the  Carolinas  spots  as 
marked   in  the  memory,  and  as  dear  to  the  hearts,  of 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         63 

Presbyterians,  as  the  moors  and  mountains  of  Scot- 
land are  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  the  Covenanters. 

In  Virginia  the  revival  began  in  a  little  prayer 
meeting  of  private  Christians  among  the  mountains 
where  there  was  no  stated  ministry — another  instance 
of  prgof  that  genuine  revivals  are  not  produced  by 
blowing  trumpets  or  by  the  impressive  marshalling  of 
great  crowds.  Now,  as  ever,  the  Lord  is  not  in  the 
storm  nor  the  earthquake  nor  the  fire,  but  in  the 
''still,  small  voice."  The  more  quietly  and  obscurely 
a  revival  begins,  the  greater  is  its  real  power.  The 
influence  of  that  little  band  of  praying  disciples  among 
the  mountains,  not  one  of  whom  probably  could  con- 
struct a  half  dozen  consecutive  sentences  of  good 
English,  rose  like  the  little  cloud  which  the  servant  of 
Elijah  saw  from  the  top  of  Carmel,  and  descended  in 
copious  showers  of  blessing  throughout  the  State  for 
many  years  thereafter. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1802  there  were  mar- 
vellous displays  of  divine  grace  in  the  pastoral  charge 
of  Rev.  Elisha  McCurdy,  consisting  of  the  churches 
of  Three  Springs  and  Cross  Roads  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, in  which  churches  a  praying  band  had  for 
some  time  before  been  observing  a  concert  of  prayer 
on  each  Thursday  evening  at  sunset.  The  gracious 
influences  thus  kindled  soon  spread  to  the  congrega- 
tions of  Cross  Creek,  Raccoon,  Upper  Bu^alo,  and 
Chartiers,  whose  pastors  were  respectively  Rev. 
Thomas  Marquis,  Rev.  Joseph  Patterson,  Rev.  John 
Anderson,  and  Rev.  John  McMillan.  The  interest 
and  power  of  this  revival  culminated  at  the  "  great 
Buffalo  sacrament,"  in  November,  1802,  at  Upper 
Buffalo,      Washington      Co.,     Pennsylvania.         Vast 


64  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

crowds  attended  this  meeting,  and  religious  services 
were  continued  almost  without  interruption  from 
Saturday  noon  to  Tuesday  evening,  and  all  these 
exercises  were  accompanied  with  marvellous  displays 
of  divine  power.  During  the  progress  of  this  meet- 
ing Rev.  Elisha  McCurdy  preached  his  celebrated 
"  war  sermon,"  under  the  power  of  which,  according 
to  eye-witnesses,  it  seemed  that  every  tenth  man 
had  been  smitten  down.  Rarely  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  have  such  ministers  labored  together  in  a 
revival  as  met  in  this  one — Patterson,  "  full  of  faith 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,"  Marquis  of  the  silver  tongue, 
Anderson,  whose  searching  discourses  penetrated  the 
hidden  places  of  the  human  heart  as  a  surgeon's 
probe  goes  to  the  bottom  of  a  festering  wound,  and 
the  lion-like  McMillan,  whose  thunderous  tones  in 
preaching  the  terrors  of  the  law  made  sinners  feel 
that  the  trumpet  of  the  archangel  was  sounding. 
Under  the  preaching  of  such  men  began  the  wonder- 
ful work  of  grace  which  in  its  progress  reached  and 
blessed  "  every  Presbyterian  congregation  west  of 
the  mountains  in  Pennsylvania." 

Nor  were  these  outpourings  of  the  spirit  confined 
to  the  South  and  the  West.  In  the  Eastern  part  of  the 
Church  the  revival  influence  was  not  so  mighty  nor 
so  extraordinary  in  its  phenomena,  yet  it  was  no  less 
genuine  or  precious  or  far-reaching  in  its  influence 
and  results.  In  the  year  1802  a  deep  and  continued 
work  of  grace  began  in  the  First  Church  of  Newark, 
N.  J.,  which  was  then  under  the  collegiate  pastorate 
of  Dr.  Alexander  McWhorter  and  Rev.  Edward  Dorr 
Griffin.  The  ministry  of  Dr.  McWhorter  had  been  a 
series  of   revivals,  and    the  history  of   this  ministry 


PRESBYTERTANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         65 

had  a  brilliant  continuation  under  Dr.  Griffin,  a 
physical  and  intellectual  giant,  whose  splendid  en- 
dowments were  consecrated  without  reserve  to  the 
service  of  his  Lord  and  Master ;  and  whether 
preaching  in  a  metropolitan  pulpit  or  in  a  school- 
house  or  in  a  cramped  and  dingy  town  hall,  these 
endowments  were  all  brought  into  play  with  their 
overpowering  effulgence.  His  wonderful  endowments 
both  of  body  and  of  mind,  his  majestic  presence,  and 
his  magnificent  oratory  place  him  conspicuously  in 
the  front  rank  of  the  preachers  of  all  the  ages ; 
and  a  revival  of  religion  was  the  occasion  on  which 
he  seemed  to  be  most  at  home,  and  on  which  his 
faculties  worked  most  harmoniously  and  most 
brilliantly. 

While  in  commanding  ability  and  Demosthenic  elo- 
quence Dr.  Griffin  was  without  a  peer,  there  were 
colaborers  of  his  who  were  not  a  whit  behind  him  in 
devotion  and  in  influence.  Such  were  Rev.  Henry 
KoUock,  upon  whom  the  mantle  of  Whitefield  seems 
to  have  fallen  ;  Dr.  James  Richards,  afterward  the 
successor  of  Dr.  Griffin  in  the  First  Church  of  Newark, 
N.  J.;  Rev.  Asa  Hillyer,  whose  every  instinct  was 
evangelistic,  and  whose  thoughts  and  prayers  accom- 
panied his  gifts  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  the 
witty  and  genial  Armstrong  (Amzi,  D.  D.)  :  the 
amiable  Perrine  (Matthew  La  Rue,  D.  D.)  ;  Robert 
Finley,  *'the  father  of  the  American  Colonization 
Society,"  who,  in  his  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  which 
he  had  espoused,  brought  the  mightiest  minds  in 
the  United  States  Senate  to  sit  at  his  feet.  These 
brethren,  quickened  by  the  spirit  of  revival,  went 
forth  two  by  two  through  the  destitute  portions  of  New 


66  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Jersey,  in  quest  of  "  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel,"  and  in  these  missionary  tours  they  were  greatly 
blessed.  Preaching  to  the  miners  among  the  mountains 
they  saw,  as  Whitefield  in  England  had  seen,  the  tears 
of  penitence  wash  white  furrows  down  the  begrimed  and 
hardened  cheeks  of  these  men.  The  work  was  quite 
general  throughout  the  State,  and  persons  of  all  ages 
and  of  all  ranks  and  classes  were  brought  to  Christ. 

From  the  year  1803  to  the  year  181 2  the  narratives 
on  the  state  of  religion  which  were  adopted  by  the 
successive  General  Assemblies  are  almost  uniformly 
cheering  and  inspiring  by  their  intelligence  of  revival, 
of  victory  over  infidelity,  which  had  been  so  much 
dreaded  ;  of  steady,  healthful  growth  and  increasing 
aggressive  power  on  the  part  of  the  Church.  One 
year  brings  the  news  that  "  there  was  scarcely  a  pres- 
bytery under  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly  from 
which  some  pleasing  intelligence  had  not  been  an- 
nounced, and  that  in  most  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
presbyteries  revivals  of  religion  of  a  more  or  less  gen- 
eral nature  had  taken  place."  In  the  following  year 
we  hear  of  remarkable  outpourings  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  over  the  "  vast  region  extending  from  the  Ohio 
River  to  the  Lakes,  which  region  a  few  years  before 
had  been  an  uninhabited  wilderness,"  as  well  as  in 
the  Synods  of  New  Jersey,  New  York,  and  Albany. 
Then  again  the  glad  tidings  come  up  from  Long 
Island,  from  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  and  from  the 
"  newly  settled  regions  in  the  western  parts  of  the 
State  of  New  York,"  which  desert,  under  the  auspices 
of  grace,  promised  to  become  as  the  garden  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  at  another  time  these  glad  tidings  come 
from  Philadelphia,  Cape  May,  Baltimore,  and   Wash- 


FRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         G^ 

ington  City.  From  time  to  time  the  dele^^ates  from 
the  Congregational  churches  of  New  England  brought 
good  news  of  revivals  in  Connecticut,  in  Yale  College, 
in  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  and 
Maine.  From  the  Merrimac  to  the  Mississippi,  from 
Cape  Fear  to  Cape  Cod,  from  the  Chesapeake  to  the 
Lakes,  came  year  after  year  tidings  of  revival,  of  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  of  the  discomfiture  of  infidelity, 
and  of  the  triumphs  of  grace,  which  were  more 
glorious  than  any  that  were  ever  bulletined  by  martial 
heroes  from  Nimrod  to  Moltke.  In  all  this  wide 
circle  the  General  Assembly  from  its  watch-tower 
"  could  trace  the  footsteps  of  Jehovah,"  could  perceive 
distinctly  amidst  the  tumultuous  strife  the  progress  of  . 
the  triumphal  chariot  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  could 
see  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire  going  before  the 
people  as  they  penetrated  the  great  Western  wilder- 
ness. With  the  smoke  of  the  "  clearing  "  rose  the 
incense  of  prayer  and  praise.  Thus  into  the  founda- 
tions of  our  national  institutions  went  the  tempered 
mortar  of  sound  theology  and  of  vital  godliness. 
With  these  fathers  religion  was  not  a  theory  or  a 
philosophy,  but  a  life. 

The  narratives  on  the  state  of  religion  frequently 
and  eloquently  refer  to  the  conquests  of  grace  over 
infidelity  and  false  philosophy.  They  tell  how  these 
opposing  forces  were  by  the  power  of  God  driven 
from  the  field,  and  how  their  champions  were  either 
converted  or  else  covered  with  confusion.  They  also 
repeatedly  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  the  educated  mind 
of  the  nation  was  turning  more  and  more  to  the  cross 
of  Christ.  When  we  remember  the  widespread  prev- 
alence of  infidelity  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 


68  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

century  and  the  front  of  brazen-faced  assurance  which 
it  put  on,  and  when  we  think  of  the  persistent  and 
malignant  efforts  which  were  made  to  brand  Chris- 
tianity as  a  vulgar  delusion,  utterly  unworthy  the  con- 
sideration of  an  intelligent  mind,  and  when  we  con- 
sider how  this  seductive  infidelity,  under  the  guise 
of  philosophy  and  respectability,  had  poisoned  the 
political  and  social  life  of  the  nation — we  can  under- 
stand the  solicitude  of  the  Church  in  the  solemn  crisis, 
and  know  why  it  was  that  she  so  rejoiced  when  she 
saw  the  banner  of  the  cross  lifted  up  and  advancing, 
while  the  standards  of  the  enemy  went  down  amidst 
the  panic-stricken  ranks  of  unbelief. 

Thus,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  gates  of 
the  new  century  on  this  continent  were  swung  open. 
The  Sun  of  righteousness  arose,  and  the  sentinels, 
from  Plymouth  Rock  to  the  peaks  of  the  Cumber- 
land Mountains,  passed  the  watchword,  "  The  morn- 
ing Cometh  r 

The  first  pulsations  of  organic  Presbyterianism  in 
this  country  were  the  throbbings  of  missionary  zeal. 
As  early  as  the  year  1707  the  presbytery  ordered  that 
''  every  minister  of  the  presbytery  supply  neighboring 
desolate  places  where  a  minister  is  wanting  and  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  good  offers."  The  entire  ministry 
of  the  Church  was  thus  organized  into  a  missionary 
corps.  Like  the  children  of  Issachar,  they  were  "  men 
that  had  understanding  of  the  times  to  know  what 
Israel  ought  to  do."  They  divined  the  coming  gran- 
deur of  the  empire  which,  springing  up  in  the  forests 
of  America,  was  to  stretch  ''from  sea  to  sea,"  and 
they    recognized    clearly   and    felt    profoundly    the 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


69 


supreme  necessity  of  laying   the  foundations  of  this 
empire  in  the  principles  of  the  word  of  God,  so  that 
it  might  be  able  to  withstand  the  winds  and  floods 
and  earthquake  shocks  which  it  must  encounter  m  its 
march  down  the  centuries.     The  Church  and  country 
greatly  needed  godly  and  faithful  ministers,  and  also 
the  means  by  which  these  ministers  could  be  supported. 
Earnest  and  repeated  cries  for  both  men  and  money 
were  sent  to  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and  any 
favorable  response  to  these  entreaties  awakened  the 
liveliest  sentiments  of  gratitude  in  the  hearts  of  these 
laborious   self-denying   servants   of   God,  who,    with 
scanty   material    resources,  but    with    a    marvellous 
wealth  of  faith,  were  humbly  and  heroically  discharg- 
ing the  obscure  duties  which  belong  to  the  "  day  of 

small  things."  ,  .,   ^  ,   u- 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia 
an  overture  was  adopted  to  the  effect  that  the  several 
members  of  the  svnod  "  contribute  something  to  the 
raising  of  a  fund  for  pious  uses."     These  mmisters 
gave  out  of  their  poverty,  and  according  to  the  spirit  of 
the  overture,  it  was  only  after  they  had  thus  given, 
that  they  might  "  use  their  interest  with  their  friends 
on  proper  occasions  to  contribute  something  to  the 
purpose."     They   did   not  merely   inculcate  benevo- 
lence, "  as  the  m'anner  of  some  is,"  but  gave  a  practical 
exemplification  of  it.     They  not  only  pointed  out  the 
way  to  their  flocks,  but  led  them   in  that  way.     As  1 
may  not  traverse  this  part  of  the  field,  which  has  been 
so  thoroughly  canvassed*  let  it  suffice  to  say  that  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  this  country,  from  the  very 
first,  has  been  in  heart  and  soul,  in  body  and  spirit, 
in  life  and  limb,  a  missionary  organization. 

*In  the  address  of  another  on  this  same  occasion.— Eus. 


70  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

The  General  Assembly  took  up  and  carried  forward 
the  work  which  had  been  inaugurated  by  the  presby- 
tery and  the  synod.  At  its  first  meeting  this  subject 
occupied  the  earnest  thought  and  care  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  the  synods  were  enjoined  to  furnish, 
through  the  presbyteries,  suitable  missionaries,  and 
the  churches  were  urged  to  take  collections  for  the 
cause,  that  thus  both  men  and  means  might  be 
furnished  for  the  establishment  of  churches  on  the 
frontiers. 

In  the  next  year  (1790)  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  not 
having  received  the  official  action  of  the  General 
Assembly,  organized  a  very  efficient  "  Commission  of 
Synod,"  which  sent  its  missionaries  from  the  "  bay 
shore  to  the  Mississippi."  I  have  in  another  con- 
nection spoken  of  the  Commission  of  the  Synod  of 
Virginia,  of  the  remarkable  band  of  missionaries 
which  that  Commission  sent  forth,  and  of  the  great 
work  which  these  missionaries  accomplished  within 
the  borders  of  Virginia  and  in  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee. The  Synod  of  North  Carolina  also  inau- 
gurated measures  of  its  own  for  advancing  the  picket- 
line  along  the  extensive  frontier.  These  synods  were 
to  report  their  operations  to  the  General  Assembly. 

By  these  different  agencies  and  from  these  differ- 
ent centres  the  aggressive  work  of  the  Church  was 
pushed  vigorously  forward.  The  missionaries  were 
itinerant,  travelling  over  fields  immense  in  extent 
and  bristling  with  difficulties  and  dangers.  The 
General  Assembly  sent  its  missionaries  mainly  to  Cen- 
tral New  York,  Northern  Pennsylvania,  and  to  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  One  circuit  extended 
from  Lake    George  to  the    northwestern    frontier  of 


PRE5BYTERIAN1SM    IX    THE    UNITED    STATES.         7  I 

Pennsylvania.  Another  stretched  from  Northumber- 
land Co.  along  the  branches  of  the  Susquehanna, 
and  beyond  the  head-waters  of  that  river  northward 
to  Lake  Ontario  and  westward  to  Lake  Erie.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  century  the  Synod  of  North 
Carolina  had  sent  its  missionaries,  in  connection  with 
the  missionaries  of  the  General  Assembly,  westward 
to  the  Mississippi  and  southward  well-nigh  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 

In  these  aggressive  movements  of  the  Church  the 
Indians  were  not  forgotten  ;  the  work  of  "  gospelizing  " 
them  occupied  the  early  and  earnest  attention  of  the 
General  Assembly.  Abundant  and  urgent  incentives 
to  such  an  enterprise  were  found  in  the  condition  and 
necessities  of  these  savage  tribes,  while  splendid  ex- 
amples of  devotion  and  success  in  this  field  were  on 
record  as  a  sanction  and  an  encouragement  in  the 
undertaking.  The  immortal  author  of  "  The  Treatise 
on  the  Will,"  "  the  greatest  divine  of  the  age,"  had 
spent  the  fullest  and  the  ripest  of  his  years  among 
the  Indians  at  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts  ;  and 
Brainerd,  by  his  labors  and  apostolic  zeal  among  the 
same  people  on  the  Delaware  and  the  Susquehanna, 
had  given  to  Christendom  new  ideas  on  the  subject 
of  missionary  consecration  and  enthusiasm,  and  on 
the  power  of  the  gospel  as  a  saving  and  civilizing 
agent  among  the  lowest  and  most  degraded  classes. 
Under  the  power  of  such  incentives,  and  in  the  light 
of  these  great  examples,  the  Gospel  was  preached  to 
the  Indians  along  the  frontier  from  the  Hudson  to 
the  Mississippi.  Our  forefathers,  with  their  trusty 
rifles  as  a  defence  in  the  one  hand,  held  out  with  the 
other  the  Bread  of  Ljfe   and  the   blessings  of  civiliza- 


72  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

tion  and  education  to  their  treacherous  and  bloody 
foes.  The  dreadful  war-whoop  was  answered  by  the 
trumpet  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace.  The  Church  kept 
bravely  abreast  of  the  line  of  population  as  it  ad- 
vanced westward.  The  watchmen  of  Zion,  seeing 
the  standards  of  the  sacramental  host  borne  steadily 
onward  over  mountains,  across  rivers,  through  difficult 
and  perilous  places,  and  planted  amidst  the  log  cabins 
of  the  frontiersmen  and  the  wigwams  of  the  Indians 
from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  could 
have  taken  up  the  shout  of  the  mediaeval  poet  : 

The  royal  banners  forward  go, 

The  cross  shines  forth  with  mystic  glow, 

Presbyterianism  has  always  been  the  patron  and 
promoter  of  learning.  An  open  Bible,  an  enlightened 
intellect,  and  an  unfettered  conscience  have  ever  been 
her  watchwords.  Whithersoever  she  has  gone  she 
has  borne  the  torch  of  learning  along  with  her.  Her 
goings  forth  have  been  attended  by  an  illumination 
like  to  that  which  attended  the  steps  of  Milton's 
Raphael  in  Eden.  The  pioneers  of  American  Pres- 
byterianism, true  to  the  traditions  of  the  past,  carried 
the  lamp  of  learning  with  them  into  the  wilderness. 
Under  the  bare  and  rude  rafters  of  log  cabins  they 
held  converse  with  the  mighty  spirits  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  and  within  sound  of  the  Indian  war-whoop 
and  within  sight  of  the  council-fires  of  savage  tribes 
they  laid  the  foundations  of  literary  institutions 
whose  influence  has  had  a  wider  reach  and  a  deeper 
current  than  ever  belonged  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Porch  or  the  Academy. 

The  log  college  of  Tennent  on  the  banks  of  the 


PRE5P.VTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         73 

Neshaminy  first  gave  the  distinctive  stamp  to  Ameri- 
can Presbyterianism,  and  that  of  Blair  at  Fagg's 
Manor,  Pa.,  was  scarcely  less  influential,  and  shall 
ever  have  a  secure  place  in  its  unique  historic  niche 
so  long  as  it  can  be  said,  "  Samuel  Davies  was  edu- 
cated  here  and  went  forth  into  the  world  an  exponent 
and  exemplar  of  his  Alma  Mater'';  while  that  of 
Finley  at  Nottingham,  Md.,  sent  forth  such  men  as 
Dr.  Waddell,  the  immortal  blind  preacher,  whose  elo- 
quence William  Wirt  has  made  familiar  to  every 
schoolboy. 

In  Western  Pennsylvania,  as  early  as  1782,  Rev. 
Thaddeus  Dodd  opened  his  log  academy  on  Ten- 
]\lile  Creek  ;  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  at  Upper  Buffalo, 
appropriating  his  kitchen  for  the  purpose  of  a  Latin 
school,  gave  it  the  dignified  and  classical  title,  "  The 
Study";  while  even  earlier  than  this  Dr.  McMillan, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Chartiers,  laid  the  foundations  of 
Jefferson  College. 

The  same  policy  was  pursued  in  North  Carolina. 
The  self-educated  Patillo  taught  a  classical  school 
at  Granville;  Dr.  Hall  had  his  famous  "Clio's 
Nursery  "  at  Snow  Creek,  and  his  "  Academy  of  the 
Sciences,"  with  its  philosophical  apparatus,  at  his  own 
house ;  the  flaming  evangelist  McGready  opened  a 
school  at  his  house  ;  Wallis  had  a  classical  school  at 
New  Providence,  McCorkle  at  Salisbury,  and  Mc- 
Caule  at  Centre.  Patillo  and  Hall  not  only  taught, 
but  wrote  text-books.  The  spirit  of  these  men  is 
indicated  by  an  incident  in  the  life  of  Patillo.  Once, 
in  his  absence  from  home,  his  house  was  burned  ; 
and  the  first  question  on  meeting  his  wife  was,  "  My 
dear,  are  my  books  safe  .?  " 


74  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Down  the  beautiful  valleys  of  the  Holston  and  the 
Clinch,  in  Tennessee,  emigration  poured  from  North 
Carolina,  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey. 
The  first  settled  minister  in  this  region  was  Rev. 
Samuel  Doak,  who  built  a  log  college,  which  in  1788 
was  incorporated  as  Martin  Academy,  the  first  lite- 
rary institution  established  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  which  afterward,  in  1795,  became 
Washington  College.  Subsequently  removing  to 
Greene  Co.,  Mr.  Dpak  opened  his  "  Tusculum,"  an 
academy  to  prepare  young  men  for  college.  This 
institution  also  developed  into  a  college.  A  small 
library,  procured  for  Washington  College  in  Philadel- 
phia, was  carried  to  Tennessee  in  sacks  on  pack- 
horses.  In  five  years  after  the  first  settlement  of  the 
State  by  Daniel  Boone  steps  were  taken  toward  the 
founding  of  a  seminary  of  learning  in  Kentucky.  The 
originators  and  promoters  of  this  scheme  were  Pres- 
byterians, and  the  school,  the  first  in  Kentucky,  was 
opened  in  the  house  of  Father  Rice. 

Presbyterianism  is  an  Aaron's  rod,  which  always 
buds  with  intellectual  as  well  as  with  spiritual  life. 
The  Graces  and  the  Muses,  in  chaste  and  modest 
fellowship  with  Christian  virtues,  dwelt  in  the  Western 
forests.  Beside  the  fires  on  the  altars  of  pure  religion 
burned  the  lamp  of  sound  learning.  "  The  church, 
the  schoolhouse,  and  the  college  grew  up  with  the 
log  cabin,  and  the  principles  of  religion  were  pro- 
claimed and  the  classics  taught  where  glass  windows 
were  unknown  and  books  were  carried  on  pack- 
horses." 

Devotion  to  freedom,  profound  conviction  of  duty, 
stanch  and  unswerving  loyalty  to  truth,  stern  adher- 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         75 

ence  to  principle,  catholic  charity,  an  active  benevo- 
lence, love  of  learning,  the  spirit  of  missions,  and  the 
power  of  revival — these  were  the  vital  forces  of  early 
American  Presbyterianism  ;  and  these  forces  had  as 
the  theatre  of  their  operation  the  republic  of  the 
United  States,  with  its  vast  and  unsolved  problems 
and  its  untold  possibilities  of  wealth  and  power,  while 
as  the  epoch  of  their  development  these  forces  had 
the  nineteenth  centuiy,  with  its  teeming  enterprises, 
its  concentrating  energies,  its  momentous  conflicts 
and  issues. 

Having  thus  endeavored  to  set  before  you  clearly, 
in  its  distinctive  characteristics,  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  America  during  the  last  decade  of  the 
eighteenth  century  and  the  first  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  having  endeavored  to  place  the 
Church  fairly  abreast  of  the  mighty  current  of  modern 
history,  the  rest  of  my  task  must  be  despatched  more 
summarily.  In  the  execution  of  it  I  shall  give  only 
broad  outlines  and  shall  deal  with  forces  rather  than 
with  facts. 

The  work  of  revival,  the  power  of  which  had  been 
felt  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi,  had 
evoked  the  spirit  of  missions,  and  the  spirit  of  mis- 
sions had  enlarged  the  views  and  broadened  the  sym- 
pathies of  Christians  and  of  churches,  and  in  this  way 
different  denominations  had  been  brought  together 
m  friendly  co-operation.  In  the  year  1802  the 
General  Assembly  adopted  the  Plan  of  Union,  under 
which  a  Presbyterian  church  might  have  a  Congre- 
gational pastor  or  a  Congregational  church  might 
have   a  Presbyterian    pastor,  these  pastors  retaining 


76  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

their  respective  ecclesiastical  relations.  The  motives 
which  prompted  this  action  were  in  the  highest  degree 
laudable  and  honorable,  but  the  practical  operation 
of  the  plan  was  beset  with  difficulties,  and  these  diffi- 
culties soon  began  to  manifest  themselves.  Swift 
currents  were  now  sweeping  the  Church  out  into 
untried  waters.  New  elements,  new  forces,  and  new 
issues  entered  into  the  history  year  by  year.  The 
incidents  of  the  drama  thicken.  Events  hasten  ;  the 
tide  of  mingling  peoples  rolls  westward  ;  the  steps  of 
Divine  Providence  will  not  tarry  ;  States  in  the  South 
and  in  the  West  rise  as  by  magic  ;  along  new  lines  of 
trade  and  travel  cities  spring  up  in  a  night  ;  vast  and 
important  mission-fields  are  rapidly  opening,  and  the 
Church  has  neither  the  men  nor  the  means  with  which 
to  occupy  these  fields. 

In  the  year  1806  the  late  Dr.  James  Hoge  of 
Columbus,  O.,  was  sent  as  a  missionary  to  "  the 
State  of  Ohio  and  parts  adjacent." 

As  the  new  age,  with  its  tumultous  and  mingling 
elements  and  its  pressing  demands  on  Christian 
activity,  hurried  on,  it  developed  difference  of  views 
and  of  policy  where  unanimity  of  both  had  prevailed 
before.  In  pushing  forward  the  cause  of  evangeliza- 
tion there  were  two  antagonistic  theories  according 
to  which  the  work  was  conducted.  One  theory  mul- 
tiplied voluntary  and  irresponsible  societies  in  different 
localities,  and  operated  from  various  centres  without 
unity  of  purpose  or  of  government.  The  other  theory 
strove  to  unify  the  benevolent  work  of  the  Church 
and  to  bring  it  within  the  metes  and  bounds  of  eccle- 
siastical control.  In  the  slow  but  steady  working  out 
of  this  latter  theory  the  committee  on  missions,  which 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         77 

was  raised  by  the  General  Assembly  in  1790,  became 
a  stated  committee,  the  stated  committee  became  a 
standing  committee,  and  the  standing  committee 
passed  into  the  Board  of  Missions  in  the  year  1816. 
In  the  same  way  successive  efforts  in  behalf  of  minis- 
terial education  resulted  at  last  in  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation in  the  year  1819. 

Besides  these  antagonistic  views  and  policies  in 
respect  to  the  benevolent  work  of  the  Church,  ques- 
tions arose  under  the  operation  of  the  Plan  of  Union 
which  touched  the  vital  principles  of  Presbyterianism. 
There  was  no  dispute  as  to  what  Presbyterianism  was, 
but  as  to  how  far  its  fundamental  principles  might  be 
ignored  or  suspended  for  the  sake  of  expediency. 
These  questions  and  the  differences  which  arose  out 
of  them  became  more  and  more  emphasized  each  suc- 
ceeding year.  By  some  the  Plan  of  Union  was  put 
above  the  constitution  of  the  Church.  By  others  the 
Plan  of  Union  was  regarded  as  a  masterly  device  for 
congregationalizing  the  Church,  or  else  for  destroy- 
ing both  Presbyterianism  and  Congregationalism  and 
producing  a  hybrid  monstrosity  of  ecclesiasticism 
which  would  be  a  caricature  of  both.  The  differences 
were  deep,  striking  down  to  the  roots  of  the  Pres- 
byterian system,  and  were  consequently  irreconcilable. 

In  addition  to  the  differences  in  regard  to  policy 
and  polity,  there  were  deeper  doctrinal  controversies. 
The  cloud  which  contained  this  storm  came  from  New 
England.  New  measures  and  New  Haven  theology 
created  a  great  amount  of  distrust  and  disturbance 
throughout  the  Church.  The  very  sincerity,  earnest- 
ness, and  honesty  of  the  men  who  were  engaged  on 
both  sides  of  the  controversy  made  the  contest  all  the 


yS  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

more  determined  and  the  excitement  attending  it  all 
the  more  intense.  Each  succeeding  year,  with  its  dis- 
cussions, conventions,  and  trials  for  heresy,  widened 
the  lines  of  divergence  and  whetted  the  points  of 
antagonism.  With  much  of  heroic  devotion  to  prin- 
ciple, as  well  as  with  much  of  mingled  human  infirmity 
and  error  on  both  sides,  the  contest  waxed  hotter  and 
hotter,  until  it  reached  its  culmination  in  the  exscind- 
ing acts  of  1837  and  the  division  of  1838. 

Of  late  years  it  has  become  quite  the  style  to  speak 
in  a  tone  of  deprecating  pity  of  these  ecclesiastical 
battles  of  forty  years  ago,  as  though  they  were  mere 
quibbles  about  words  or  disputes  about  the  tithing  of 
the  mint  and  the  anise  and  the  cummin,  and  to  quote 
them  as  proofs  of  a  very  low  state  of  piety  and  of  the 
prevalence  of  a  rabid  spirit  of  scholasticism  and  of 
dead  orthodoxy  ;  but  it  becomes  us  to  beware  lest  we 
fall  into  the  condemnation  of  those  who,  "  measuring 
themselves  by  themselves  and  comparing  themselves 
among  themselves,  are  not  wise."  Deep  and  strong 
convictions  of  truth  and  of  duty,  and  a  firm  adherence 
to  these  convictions  at  any  cost,  can  never  be  a  just 
cause  of  reproach  to  Christian  men.  For  such  con- 
victions believers  in  all  ages  have  been  "  tortured, 
not  accepting  deliverance,"  and  have  counted  their 
blood  as  cheap  as  water  when  shed  in  such  a  cause. 
They  "contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  "  because  that 
faith  is  infinitely  precious  to  them.  A  Church  or  a 
Christian  without  sharp  and  distinctive  beliefs  is  a 
body  without  a  spinal  column,  bones,  or  marrow.  If 
ever  the  time  comes  when  men  shall  not  care  to  de- 
fend what  they  hold  as  Presbyterians  or  Methodists 
or  Baptists  or  Congregationalists,  the  time  will  have 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         79 

come  when  men  will  not  care  to  defend  the  truth  of 
the  Gospel  at  all.  If  to  be  a  Presbyterian  makes  a 
man  any  the  less  a  Christian  in  any  sense  or  in  any 
particular,  then  let  us  burn  our  Confession  of  Faith 
and  our  Book  of  Government  ;  let  us  tear  down  and 
tear  up  the  banner  which  was  carried  by  our  fore- 
fathers through  so  many  persecutions.  But  if  Pres- 
byterianism  is  scriptural  in  theory  and  holy  in  its 
practical  results,  then  let  us  never  be  afraid  or 
ashamed  to  avow  it.  A  Church  without  a  creed  is  to 
one  which  has  a  creed  as  the  hyssop  on  the  wall  is  to 
the  cedar  of  Lebanon  or  as  the  jelly-fish  is  to  the 
Nemean  lion.  The  danger  is  not  that  we  shall  hold 
these  doctrines  too  firmly  or  cherish  them  too 
sacredly,  but  that  through  remissness  and  indiffer- 
ence we  shall  let  slip  the  precious  trusts  which  have 
come  down  to  us  on  rivers  of  martyr  blood. 

It  is  a  significant  and  remarkable  fact,  and  one 
which  deserves  especial  emphasis  at  our  hands,  that 
those  years  of  controversy  and  debate  which  pre- 
ceded the  division  of  1837  were  years  of  spiritual 
growth  and  prosperity  in  the  Church,  ''the  Holy 
Ghost  thus  signifying  "  that  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel 
are  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  even  when  preached  in  strife  and  debate. 
Better  preached  thus  than  not  to  be  preached  at  all. 
We  are  not  justified  in  passing  judgment  on  these 
men  of  '37,  some  of  whom  linger  among  us,  who, 
"  firm  in  the  right  as  God  gave  them  to  see  the 
right,"  followed  their  convictions  straight  to  the  issue, 
regardless  of  sacrifices  or  consequences. 

The  division  of  1838  was  followed  by  a  period  of 
tumult,  litigation,  and  readjustment.    The  ploughshare 


8o  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

ran  through  most  of  the  synods  and  presbyteries,  and 
through  many  of  the  churches  even.  Certain  loose 
elements  which  were  set  afloat  by  these  riving  proc- 
esses oscillated  between  the  two  bodies  for  some 
time,  but  at  last  attached  to  one  or  the  other  of  them, 
or  else  drifted  away  to  other  spheres  of  ecclesiastical 
attraction  and  affinity.  When  the  dust  and  smoke  of 
the  conflict  were  dispelled,  the  view  revealed  two 
Presbyterian  Churches  with  the  same  Confession  of 
Faith  and  the  same  Form  of  Government  and  the 
same  Book  of  Discipline,  working  side  by  side  in  the 
same  field,  yet  having  differences  which  were  quite 
characteristic  and  distinctive. 

The  Old  School  Church  was  to  a  remarkable  degree 
homogeneous  in  its  constituent  elements,  and  was  dis- 
tinguished for  a  rigid  orthodoxy  and  a  strict  ecclesi- 
asticism.  The  New  School  Church,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  not  homogeneous  in  its  constituent  ele- 
ments, and  was  distinguished  for  a  liberal  construc- 
tion of  the  standards,  and  for  an  ecclesiasticism  which, 
for  the  sake  of  the  voluntary  and  co-operative  system 
of  beneficence,  put  in  jeopardy  the  interests  of  a  just 
and  necessary  denominationalism.  The  Old  School 
Church  continued  in  its  orbit,  in  possession  of  its  titles, 
dignities,  and  endowments,  while  the  New  School 
Church,  against  its  will,  was  flung  off  into  a  new  and 
untried  sphere.  The  Old  School  Church  had  a  well- 
defined  policy,  and  went  right  on  in  its  course,  with 
scarcely  a  jar  or  a  jostle  in  its  ecclesiastical  operations. 
The  New  School  party,  stunned  by  the  sudden  and 
summary  blow  of  excision,  without  a  legal  status  and 
beyond  the  pale  of  its  wonted  ecclesiastical  relations, 
was   at   first   without   a    fixed    policy ;  and    through 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         8l 

abounding  magnanimity  refusing  to  disentangle  itself 
from  incongruous  alliances,  was  by  these  alliances 
seriously  distracted  and  weakened.  Its  generosity, 
magnanimity,  and  charity  are  beyond  all  praise,  but 
unhappily  these  amiable  and  noble  qualities  outran 
the  less  dazzling  and  sterner  attributes  of  wisdom, 
prudence,  and  a  just  conservatism.  The  experiment 
of  an  amalgamated  Presbyterianism,  therefore,  was 
made  in  propitious  circumstances,  under  favorable 
conditions,  and  by  those  whose  sentiments  and  sym- 
pathies rendered  the  effort  a  sincere  and  cordial  one  ; 
yet  the  experiment  failed,  and  the  failure  has  gone 
into  history.  There  is  nothing  in  this  that  is  de- 
rogatory to  the  party  which  made  the  experiment,  but 
it  is,  on  the  contrary,  in  the  highest  degree  honorable 
to  it  that  in  the  circumstances  the  experiment  was 
made  ;  yet  the  failure  is  none  the  less  significant  and 
instructive. 

The  changes  which  were  made  in  the  constitution 
by  the  New  School  Church  were  soon  discovered 
to  be  disastrous  to  the  interests  at  stake  and  to  the 
efficiency  of  ecclesiastical  operations,  and  the  mistake 
which  had  thus  been  made  was  speedily  rectified  by 
restoring  the  "  Book  "  to  its  original  form  and  by  rein- 
stating it  as  the  constitutional  law  of  the  Church,  both 
in  the  letter  and  in  the  spirit  of  it.  In  the  violent 
agitations,  and  amidst  the  swift  and  turbulent  currents 
which  succeeded  the  division,  the  Church  had  been 
swept  somewhat  from  its  moorings,  but  as  soon  as  the 
storm  had  subsided  it  swung  back  to  the  safe  harbor 
and  the  strong  anchorage  of  constitutional  Presby- 
terianism. 

The    theory  of   co-operation    and  of   undenomina- 


82  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

tionalism,  in  spite  of  the  most  unselfish  and  liberal 
efforts  in  its  behalf,  gradually  broke  down,  and  the 
pitiless  logic  of  facts  forced  the  Church  to  adopt  a 
policy  against  which  her  charity  and  her  sympathies 
reluctated,  but  which  the  solemn  calls  of  duty  and  the 
urgent  exigences  of  the  times  not  only  justified,  but 
rendered  imperative.  She  undertook  to  educate  her 
own  ministry,  to  create  and  disseminate  her  own 
literature,  and  to  conduct  her  missions  in  her  own 
fields  in  her  own  way  ;  and  when  to  a  well-defined 
task  she  set  her  hand,  the  work  glowed  beneath  her 
touch.  A  new  energy  thrilled  along  every  fibre  of  her 
organic  life.  Full  of  hope  and  zeal  and  enthusiasm, 
with  a  united  and  inflexible  purpose,  she  entered  upon 
a  new  era  in  her  history  which  was  as  radiant  with 
promise  as  the  roseate  sky  mantling  with  the  blushes 
of  the  morning.  She  had  come  at  length  to  a  clear 
conception  of  her  mission.  She  saw  her  work  dis- 
tinctly and  emphatically  outlined  in  a  field  which  sug- 
gested and  invited  boundless  effort  ;  and  to  that  work 
she  went,  with  heart  and  mind  and  soul  exulting  in  the 
free  play  of  her  untrammeled  individuality. 

The  Old  School,  at  the  time  of  the  division,  had 
a  wonderfully  homogeneous  constituency,  a  clearly 
defined  theology,  a  pure  Presbyterian  form  of  govern- 
ment, a  fixed  policy,  an  enthusiastic  unanimity  of 
sentiment,  leaders  of  consummate  ability,  the  prestige 
which  accrued  from  its  legally  recognized  status,  an 
ecclesiastical  machinery  ready  to  its  hand,  a  definite 
work  to  do,  and  an  entire  singleness  of  purpose  in  the 
prosecution  of  that  work.  The  Board  of  Missions 
(Domestic)  and  the  Board  of  Education  had  already 
been  organized  and  in  operation  for  a  score  of  years. 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         83 

In  the  stormy  year  of  1837,  amidst  the  tumults  of 
excision  and  division,  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
was  organized,  and  into  this  board  was  at  once 
merged  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
which  had  been  formed  and  operated  by  the  synod  of 
Pittsburgh  for  six  years  previous  to  this  date  ;  and 
thus  "  the  wall  was  built  even  in  troublous  times." 
Nor  did  this  old  church,  even  amidst  the  absorbing 
interest  and  excitement  of  such  a  crisis  as  that  of 
1837,  forget  for  so  much  as  an  hour  that  "  the  field  is 
the  world."  The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  which 
was  then  constituted,  has  continued  to  this  day  to  be 
a  source  of  steadily  increasing  power  and  blessing,  and 
on  its  records  are  the  names  of  as  heroic  men  and 
women  as  ever  planted  the  cross  among  savage  men 
or  amidst  "  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness," 
and  its  martyrology  is  as  glorious  as  that  which  was 
enacted  in  the  Coliseum  or  in  the  imperial  gardens  of 
Nero. 

With  a  full  recognition  of  the  power  of  the  press 
and  of  the  supreme  importance  of  a  sound  theological 
literature,  the  Board  of  Publication  was  organized  in  the 
year  1838.  Out  of  the  work  of  Domestic  Missions  grew 
the  Church  Erection  Fund  of  the  New  School  Church 
and  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  of  the  Old  School 
Church,  both  of  which  were  merged  at  the  reunion 
into  the  Board  of  Church  Erection.  Nor  has  the 
Church  forgotten  her  worn-out  veterans  and  their 
widows  and  orphans,  and  her  efforts  in  their  behalf 
resulted  in  the  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief.  The 
benevolent  agencies  of  the  Church  are  not  cunningly 
devised  frame-works  of  abstract  and  finely  spun 
theories,  but  each  one  of  them  has  arisen  out  of  the 


84  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

actual  necessities  of  the  work  and  t'ne  urgent,  emphatic 
demands  of  the  times.  They  are  a  growth,  a  develop- 
ment, not  an  invention. 

In  both  branches  of  the  Church,  during  the  separa- 
tion, the  subject  of  slavery  produced  earnest  discus- 
sion and  deep,  widespread  agitations.  In  the  New 
School  Church  the  deliverances  on  the  subject  by  the 
General  Assembly  became  more  pronounced  from 
year  to  year.  The  Northern  portion  of  that  Church 
became  gradually,  but  surely,  more  emphatic  in  its 
anti-slavery  convictions  and  utterances,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  Southern  portion,  through  a  variety  of 
potent  and  subtle  influences,  was  quietly  slipping 
away  from  the  testimonies  of  the  Church  against 
slavery,  and  assuming  the  position  that  slave-holding 
was  sanctioned  by  the  Bible  and  was  an  institution  not 
only  to  be  tolerated  but  defended.  Of  necessity  the 
breach  between  the  parties  became  wider  and  wider 
each  succeeding  year.  Their  views  were  so  diver- 
gent and  so  utterly  irreconcilable  that  there  was  no 
hope  or  possibility  of  a  compromise.  The  crisis  came 
in  the  year  1857.  The  Southern  synod  withdrew. 
The  debates  preceding  the  schism  were  candid  and 
fraternal,  and  the  parties  separated  without  bitterness 
and  with  sincere  mutual  respect  and  love. 

In  the  meantime  the  political  horizon  grew  black 
with  angry  and  portentous  clouds,  and  muttering 
thunders  gathered  to  a  storm  in  which  not  only 
churches  went  asunder,  but  in  which  States  which 
were  knit  together  by  ties  of  brotherhood  "  were  rent 
with  civil  feuds  and  drenched  with  fraternal  blood." 
Amidst  the  trooping  furies  of  an  awful  civil  war  the 


PRESP.YTERIANISM    IX    THE    UNITED    STATES.         85 

Old  School  Church  was  riven  asunder,  the  split 
following  the  line  which  separated  the  loyal  States 
from  those  which  were  in  rebellion  against  the 
Federal  government. 

At  this  point  a  word  is  necessary  in  regard  to  the 
attitude  and  the  teaching  of  the  Church  on  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery.  The  testimony  of  the  Church  on  this 
matter  has  always  been  clear  and  explicit.  In  the 
year  1787  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
"  highly  approved  of  the  general  principles  in  favor 
of  universal  liberty  that  prevail  in  America,  and  the 
interest  which  many  of  the  States  had  taken  in 
promoting  the  abolition  of  slavery,"  and  ''  recom- 
mended to  all  their  people  to  use  the  most  prudent 
measures,  consistent  with  the  interest  and  the  state  of 
civil  society  in  the  counties  where  they  lived,  to  pro- 
cure eventually  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  in 
America."  This  action  was  reaffirmed  in  1793.  In 
the  year  1815  the  General  Assembly  ''declared  their 
cordial  approbation  of  those  principles  of  civil  liberty 
which  appear  to  be  recognized  by  the  federal  and 
State  governments  in  these  United  States,"  and  urged 
the  presbyteries  under  their  care  "  to  adopt  such  meas- 
ures as  will  secure  at  least  to  the  rising  generation 
of  slaves  within  the  bounds  of  the  Church  a  religious 
education,  that  they  may  be  prepared  for  the  exercise 
and  enjoyment  of  liberty  when  God  in  his  providence 
may  open  a  door  for  their  emancipation,"  and  the 
same  Assembly  denounced  "the  buying  and  selling 
of  slaves  by  way  of  traffic,  and  all  undue  severity  in 
the  management  of  them,  as  inconsistent  with  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel." 

The   immortal  paper  upon  the  subject  which  was 


86  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  in  the  year  1818 
begins  with  these  ringing  words  :  "  We  consider  the 
voluntary  enslaving  of  one  portion  of  the  human  race 
by  another  as  a  gross  violation  of  the  most  precious 
and  sacred  rights  of  human  nature,  as  utterly  incon- 
sistent with  the  law  of  God  which  requires  us  to  love 
our  neighbor  as  ourselves,  and  as  totally  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  spirit  and  principles  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  which  enjoins  that  '  all  things  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 
them ';  "  and  the  entire  paper  is  in  the  tone  and  spirit 
of  its  initial  sentence.  The  action  of  1845  deals  with 
the  single  and  specific  question  as  to  whether  slave- 
hold'mgper  se  and  "without  regard  to  circumstances 
is  a  sin  and  a  bar  to  Christian  communion  ";  and  that 
action  did  not  in  any  way  or  to  any  extent  nullify  or  in- 
validate the  former  deliverances  of  the  Church  courts 
on  the  subject.  The  General  Assembly  of  1846  de- 
clared that  in  its  judgment  the  action  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1845  was  not  intended  to  deny  or 
to  rescind  the  testimony  often  uttered  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  previous  to  that  date.  Upon  the 
deliverance  of  1818  the  Church  as  a  body  has  always 
stood.  To  have  abandoned  that  ground  at  any 
time  would  have  rent  the  Church  in  twain. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  division  the  united  Church 
occupied  that  ground.  After  the  division  in  1837 
the  utterances  of  the  New  School  Church  on  the 
subject  grew  clearer  and  sharper  every  year.  Dur- 
ing the  same  time  the  Old  School  Church,  while  she 
was  not  aggressive  on  the  subject,  but  for  the  sake 
of  peace  and  charity  was  conservative,  yet  stood 
firmly  by  her  past  testimonies,  so  that  even  during 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         87 

the  Civil  War  and  after  the  abolition  of  slavery  she 
had  not  to  change  a  sentence  or  a  letter  in  her 
record,  nor  to  adjust  in  the  slightest  her  attitude  so 
as  to  put  herself  in  line  and  sympathy  with  the  moral 
forces  of  the  times.  While  the  General  Assembly 
thus  held  the  ground  of  1818,  it  must  nevertheless  be 
confessed  that  a  rapid  change  of  sentiment  was  going 
on  in  the  Southern  portion  of  the  Church,  until  finally 
the  bold  position  was  assumed  that  slavery  as  an 
institution  was  right  politically  and  morally,  and  as 
such  was  to  be  defended  and  conserved,  but  the 
Church  as  a  Church  never  held  nor  sanctioned  such 
views.  The  spirit  of  both  the  Old  and  the  New 
School  Churches  was  to  bear  unequivocal  testimony 
against  the  system  of  slavery  as  an  institution,  and 
yet  at  the  same  time  to  exercise  the  largest  charity 
toward  those  who,  through  no  fault  of  their  own, 
were  involved  in  the  evils  of  that  system.  If,  there- 
fore, the  Church  committed  an  error,  the  error  was 
on  the  side  of  charity  ;  and  if  there  were  those  who 
proved  recreant  to  her  testimonies  and  who  abused 
the  ''  charity  that  hopeth  all  things,"  the  fault  was 
theirs,  not  hers.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  errors 
of  individual  members  or  of  portions  of  her  com- 
munion, I  am  bold  and  proud  to  say  that  there  is 
nothing  in  her  records  on  the  subject  of  slavery  of 
which  she  need  be  ashamed  or  for  which  she  need 
offer  an  apology. 

Amid  the  fearful  throes  of  rebellion  both  Churches 
were  in  full  sympathy  with  the  government  in  its 
efforts  to  restore  order  and  to  preserve  the  integrity 
of  the  nation,  making  their  voices  heard  and  their 
influence  felt  in  favor  of  supporting  the  ''  powers  that 


88  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

be  as  ordained  of  God,"  and  both  Churches  rejoiced 
and  sang  hallelujahs  when,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
slavery,  the  cause  of  the  rebellion,  was  utterly  over- 
thrown and  ground  to  powder.  Neither,  in  their 
ardent  loyalty  to  their  country,  did  they  forget  their 
allegiance  to  their  Lord,  nor  were  they,  even  in  these 
perilous  times,  derelict  in  carrying  forward  the  stand- 
ard of  the  cross. 

In  the  suspense  and  danger  and  agony  which 
attended  the  ravages  of  war.  Christians  of  all 
denominations  were  drawn  closer  to  each  other. 
Great  union  associations,  such  as  the  Christian  Com- 
mission, threw  different  Churches  into  contact  and 
sympathy.  This  was  specially  the  case  with  the  Old 
and  New  School  Presbyterian  Churches.  In  the 
furnace  of  affliction  their  hearts  were  fused  and 
mingled.  They  began  to  look  each  other  in  the  face, 
to  take  each  other  by  the  hand,  and  in  doing  so  they 
found  that  their  hands  were  warmed  by  the  same 
Presbyterian  blood,  and  that  their  pulses  beat  to  the 
same  Christian  hopes  and  purposes.  They  found 
that  they  had  imperceptibly  come  together,  that  they 
were  standing  on  common  ground,  that  God  had  been 
leading  them  by  a  way  which  they  knew  not. 

Each  Church,  in  its  own  sphere  and  in  its  own  way, 
had  been  working  out  important  problems  under  the 
guidance  of  Divine  Providence.  In  its  own  sphere, 
and  according  to  the  laws  of  its  inner  life,  the  New 
School  Church  had  freed  itself  from  alien  elements 
and  entangling  alliances,  and  had  become  a  homo- 
geneous Presbyterian  body  both  in  doctrine  and 
government.  The  Old  School  Church,  straining  her 
conservatism  to  the  utmost  tension,  hoped  and  prayed 


PRESBYTERIANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.         89 

that  the  dark  and  perplexing  problem  of  slavery 
might  be  solved  in  peace  and  charity  and  without  the 
stern  arbitrament  of  the  sword.  But  God  willed  other- 
wise. The  fetters  of  the  slave  must  be  dissolved  in 
blood.  Standing  bravely  by  her  testimonies  against 
slavery  and  bearing  her  witness  against  treason  and 
rebellion,  the  Old  School  Church  calmly  awaited  the 
decisive  events  of  Providence  ;  and  when  the  schism 
of  the  Southern  Church  came,  taking  from  out  her 
pale  the  slavery  issue,  she  felt  herself  relieved  of  a 
weight  which  had  grievously  beset  her  for  years. 

Thus  God  in  his  wise  and  mysterious  providence 
had  settled  the  issues  between  the  two  Churches. 
All  that  was  left  was  for  them  to  acknowledge  and 
accept  what  God  had  done.  The  union  of  the  two 
bodies  was  consummated  on  November  12,  1869,  in 
the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  the  two  Churches 
became  organically  one  on  the  basis  of  the  standards, 
pure  and  simple,  and  under  the  title  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  form- 
ing, as  we  trust,  a  true  Church  of  Christ,  whose  up- 
lifted banners  shall  become  a  rallying-point  for  all 
Presbyterians  on  the  continent,  where  they  may  meet 
and  settle  all  differences  in  a  way  which  will  be 
honorable  to  all  parties,  where  the  scattered  Presby- 
terian tribes  may  flow  together  as  the  tribes  of  old 
Israel  poured  to  Zion,  and  shall  become  one,  and  shall 
be  to  all  the  world  the  best  representative  of  a  true 
unity  which  is  not  formed  by  external  appliances,  as 
though  bound  by  hoops  of  steel,  but  a  unity  which  is 
developed  and  strengthened  by  a  conscious  and  in- 
telligent oneness  of  intellectual  belief  and  spiritual 
life — one  not  as  a  wired  skeleton  is  one,  but  as  a  living 


90  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

man  is  one  ;  a  broad  Church  not  in  the  sense  of  being 
latitudinarian,  but  broad  in  Christian  sympathy  and  in 
the  worldwide  scope  of  Christian  effort. 

Since  the  reunion  the  progress  of  the  Church  has 
been  steady,  harmonious,  and  rapid.  With  past  aliena- 
tions, feuds,  and  bitternesses  buried  utterly  out  of  sight 
and  out  of  hearing  ;  united,  hopeful,  and  "  strong  in  the 
Lord  ";  bound  by  indissoluble  ties  of  brotherhood  and 
fellowship  to  those  of  our  own  household  of  faith, 
and  with  ardent  and  ample  charity  for  all  others,  we 
stand  on  the  threshold  of  the  new  century,  and  with 
devout  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the  past  and  for  the 
present  we  hail  and  welcome  the  great  future. 

Such  is  the  past.  Its  perils,  its  toils,  its  journeyings, 
its  disasters,  its  achievements,  its  conflicts,  its  dis- 
couragements, its  declensions,  its  revivals,  its  mighty 
sermons,  its  high  debates,  its  struggles,  its  privations, 
its  sacrifices,  its  rewards,  its  failures,  its  successes,  its 
hopes,  its  disappointments,  its  divisions,  its  reunions, 
its  unheralded  and  unrequited  labors — have  all  gone 
into  their  place,  arid  have  performed  their  part  in  ful- 
filling the  purpose  of  God  toward  this  land  and  the 
world.  They  form  a  picture  of  surpassing  interest — 
a  picture  strong  in  blended  light  and  shadow,  but 
having  withal  much  more  of  light  than  of  shadow. 
We  have  good  reason  to  be  proud  of  our  Presbyterian 
ancestry,  for  what  they  were,  for  what  they  achieved, 
and  for  what  they  represented.  We  have  a  glorious 
heraldry,  but  we  must  not  rest  in  these. 

The  great  Roman  satirist  lashes  with  whips  of 
scorpions  the  degenerate  sons  of  the  Curii  and  the 
Lepidi,  who  with  dice  and  wine  and  soft  voluptuous- 


PRE5BYTERTANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


91 


ness  melted  away  their  dissolute  lives  in  the  statued 
halls  of  illustrious  ancestors,  where  every  tablet 
groaned  with  a  wealth  of  genealogical  lore  and  every 
wreath  and  chaplet  was  redolent  with  glorious  mem- 
ories. Let  us  be  careful  that  we  incur  not  such 
satire.  We  have  been  sitting  beneath  our  genealogi- 
cal tree  and  rejoicing  in  its  stanch  branches  and  in  its 
capacious  shade.  We  have  been  gathering  up  the 
articulate  lessons  and  the  solemn,  inspiring  voices  of 
the  century  that  is  gone.  Let  these  lessons  and  voices 
only  quicken  us  to  read  aright  the  signs  of  the  times, 
and  to  hear  and  to  interpret  rightly  the  voice  of  God 
as  it  comes  to  us  in  his  Word  and  his  providence,  that 
through  watching  and  prayer,  through  faithfulness 
and  self-sacrifice,  the  present  may  not  be  a  lie  and  a 
slander  on  the  past,  but  that  it  may  be  a  consistent 
opening  and  preparation  for  a  brighter  and  grander 
future. 


Til. 


THE  DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  OF 
PRESBYTERIANISM. 


III. 

THE  DISTINCTIVE  PRINCIPLES  OF 
PRESBYTERIANISM.* 

From  eternity  God  chose  a  people  for  himself. 
The  idea  of  the  Church  rests  upon  and  springs  out  of 
the  eternal  purpose  of  Jehovah.  In  the  working  out 
of  this  eternal  purpose  the  divine  thought  assumes 
form  and  visibility  in  time.  The  true  people  of  God 
as  they  are  known  to  him  throughout  all  the  ages, 
those  who  have  been,  and  those  who  will  be  redeemed, 
constitute  the  invisible  Church.  But  since  man  can 
only  judge  as  to  who  are  the  people  of  God  by  a 
credible  profession,  "  all  those  who  profess  the  true 
religion,  together  with  their  children,"  constitute  the 
visible  Church.  The  Church,  therefore,  in  its  idea 
and  necessity,  rests  upon  no  tradition  or  expediency, 
not  upon  apostolical  authority  alone,  not  upon  a 
happy  after-thought  of  God,  but  upon  his  blessed, 
eternal  purpose  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own 
will.  As  to  churchism — if  we  must  have  it  of  all 
dimensions,  high,  low,  and  broad — here  is  churchism 
which  in  its  "  breadth  and  length  and  depth  and 
height  "  is  commensurate  with  the  "  love  of  Christ, 
which  passeth  knowledge."- 

In  the  government  of  a  God  "  whose  bosom  is  the 

*At  the  Second  General  Council  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance, 
Philadelphia,  September,  1880. 

95 


96  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

home  of  law,"  which  law  is  voiced  in  the  harmony  of 
the  world,  this  visible  Church  must  have  a  form,  an 
organization.  It  is  a  body.  The  earth,  which  is  pre- 
served from  fire  for  the  sake  of  the  Church,  swings 
through  the  ranks  of  marching  suns  to  the  music  of 
the  spheres.  This  God  of  order  would  not  leave  his 
highest  creation — the  Church — to  go  on  at  random 
or  in  anarchy.  Here,  naturally  and  presumably,  we 
should  expect  the  highest  type  of  law  and  order  and 
government  ;  of  power  regulated  ;  rights  guarded  ; 
order  maintained,  with  all  due  liberty  of  thought  and 
action. 

I.  Presbyterianism  maintains,  therefore,  that  there 
is  a  Church  ;  that  there  has  been  a  Church  from  the 
beginning  of  human  history  ;  that  the  plan  of  the 
Church  lay  in  the  mind  of  God  before  the  foundations 
of  the  world  were  laid.  This  is  high-churchismof  the 
right  kind. 

II.  This  Church,  then,  has  a  founder,  a  lawgiver,  a 
governor,  a  king,  a  head  ;  and  this  king,  lawgiver,  and 
head  is  Christ.  Presbyterianism  maintains,  always 
has  maintained,  and  always  will  maintain  so  long  as 
true  to  herself,  the  supreme  headship  of  Christ.  To 
his  Church  Jesus  Christ  has  given  laws  and  a  form  of 
government.  To  him  alone  is  the  Church  responsible 
for  what  she  does  in  her  legitimate  and  appropriate 
sphere.  These  laws  given  by  Christ  to  his  Church 
are  contained  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  which  Scriptures — 

III.  Presbyterianism  holds  to  be  the  only  and  suffi- 
cient rule  of  faith  and  practice  ;  the  Bible,  the  Bible 
alone,  and  the  whole  Bible.  To  this  principle  Pres- 
byterianism   has    always    been    loyal  ;    always    "  fol- 


PRINCIPLES    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM.  97 

lowing    God's    word,"    as    the    immortal     Rutherford 

has  it. 

Richard  Hooker — nomen  clarum  etvenerabile  ! — in  his 
"Ecclesiastical  Polity"  begins  the  discussion  at  very 
long  range,  concerning  law  in  general,  law  of  nature, 
of  angels,   of   reason,  etc.,  then    Scripture.     On   the 
other  hand,   Presbyterianism  begins,   continues,  and 
ends  with   Scripture— with  all   Scripture.     After   we 
have  learned  what  the  Scripture  saith  it  is  time  enough 
to  consult  antiquity,  history,  canons,  nature,  or  logic. 
The  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Testament  are  not 
antagonistic  nor  contradictory,   nor  inconsistent  the 
one  with  the  other  ;  the  one  is  not  a  supplement  to 
the  other,  nor  is  the  New  Testament  a  feeble  apology 
for   the    Old,  but  both  alike  are  the  Word  of  God. 
The  Church  is  one  throughout  the  ages.     Thus  going 
to  the  Word  of  God,  to  the  whole  Word  of  God,  rever- 
ently to  learn  what  form  of  government  Christ  has 
given   to   the    Church,    and    pressing    out   the   very 
essence  of  all    dispensations,   and    lifting   the   name 
right  from  the  sacred  page,  with  the  breath  of  Jehovah 
upon  it,  we  exclaim,  Presbyterian  ! 
What,  then,  is  Presbyterianism  ? 
I.  First  and  most  obviously,  it  is  a  Church  govern- 
ment in  the  hands   of    Presbyters  (elders)  ;  and  of 
these  there  are  two  classes— viz.,  teaching  elders  and 
ruling   elders.     Every   ordained    teaching    Presbyter 
has  a'uthority  to  discharge  all  ministerial  functions— 
viz.,  to   preach   the   Word,  to   administer  the  sacra- 
ments, to  dispense  discipline.     There  are  no  orders 
in  the  ministry,  such  as  characterize  Prelacy— Bishops, 
Presbyters,   Deacons.     Each    Presbyter  in    the   New 
Testament  was,  and  by  right  is,  a  Bishop— a  Bishop 


98  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

in  the  sense  of  an  overseer  of  the  flock,  not  an  over- 
seer of  his  brethren.  Associated  with  the  Presbyters 
— who,  besides  ruling,  "  labor  in  word  and  doctrine  " 
— are  others  whose  peculiar  function  it  is  to  rule  ; 
hence  called  Ruling  Elders. 

These  ruling  elders  are  not  laymen,  but  are  chosen 
from  among  laymen,  and  are  ordained  to  a  spiritual 
office,  and  in  ecclesiastical  courts  represent  the  people, 
and  in  these  ecclesiastical  courts  have  equal  powers 
with  the  teaching  elders.  It  is  conceded  on  all  hands 
that  the  office  of  ruling  elder  is  perpetual,  and  in 
logical  Presbyterianism  the  exercise  of  this  spiritual 
office  should  no  more  expire  by  limitation  of  time 
than  the  exercise  of  the  spiritual  office  of  a  preaching 
elder  should  expire  by  limitation  of  time,  or  than  the 
exercise  of  a  man's  spiritual  gifts  and  graces  should 
expire  by  limitation  of  time. 

Each  congregation  is  governed  by  a  bench  of 
elders.  From  the  lowest  court  to  the  highest  the 
power  of  the  keys  is  in  the  hand  of  Presbyters,  and 
this  Presbyterian  authority  is  episcopal.  We  have  no 
controversy  with  Episcopacy.  We  hold  it,  believe  it, 
teach  it,  practice  it,  defend  it.  Each  Presbyterian 
minister  is  a  bishop — is  indeed  the  only  scriptural 
kind  of  bishop  ;  an  episcopos,  overseer  of  the  flock,  but 
not  a  lord  over  his  brethren.  We  are  Episcopalians, 
truer  ones  than  those  who  arrogate  the  name  to  them- 
selves, for  they  have  but  few  bishops,  whereas  we 
have  many.  Prelatists  are  they,  but  scriptural  Episco- 
palians they  are  not.  We  are  Episcopalians,  but  not 
Prelatists.  Prelacy  has  no  foundation  in  the  Word  of 
God.  It  is  a  human  device,  a  human  invention,  a 
human  after-thougfht. 


PRINCIPLES    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM.  99 

The  government  of  the  Church  is  by  elders  ;  and 

2.  This  government  by  eiders  binds  the  Church 
together  organically.  Each  court  is  subordinate  to 
a  higher  court — the  Church  Session  to  the  Presbytery, 
the  Presbytery  to  the  Synod,  the  Synod  to  the 
General  Assembly.  The  power  of  the  Church  is  not 
in  the  whole  body  of  believers,  but  representatively 
it  is  in  these  courts.  There  is  no  scriptural  example 
of  ordination  by  one  presbyter,  but  by  Presbytery  ; 
so  there  is  no  scriptural  example  of  authority  exer- 
cised by  one  bishop,  but  by  an  assembly  of  bishops, 
Presbyters.  Thus  order,  decency,  discipline,  in  the 
house  of  God  are  secured,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
rights  of  every  member  are  carefully  guarded.  The 
proceedings,  conclusions,  findings,  and  judgments  of 
all  lower  courts  are  subject  to  review  by  the  higher 
courts,  and  this  review  carries  with  it  control.  No 
congregation  is  or  can  be  independent,  but  is  an 
integral  part  of  the  Presbytery,  and  the  Presbytery  is 
an  integral  part  of  the  Synod,  and  the  Synod  of  the 
General  Assembly.  An  independent  Presbyterian 
Church  is  an  anomaly — a  monstrosity.  Thus  we 
have 

3.  Unity.  Many  members  forming  one  body,  and 
the  body  in  subjection  to  the  head  ;  a  living  organism, 
not  a  unity  secured  by  arbitrary  power,  not  the  unity 
of  iron  bands  which  make  the  chariot-wheel  one,  but 
the  plastic  power  of  an  inforniing  inner  life  which 
makes  the  cedar  of  Lebanon  one,  or  the  oak  of  Bashan 
one,  with  many  members.  There  is  a  strong  govern- 
ment, but  this  government  is  only  ministerial.  The 
Church  can  make  no  laws  to  bind  the  conscience. 
She  can  only  administer  the  law  as  laid  down  in  the 


lOO  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Word  of  God.  It  is  constitutional  government — gov- 
ernment according  to  the  divine  constitution. 

And,  4,  this  unity  is  catholic. 

If  Presbyterianism  be  jure  divino,  it  is  and  must  be 
catholic.  "  We  believe  in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  ;" 
and  besides  this,  Presbyterianism  is  the  only  form  of 
government  which  can  really  give  scriptural  exj^ression 
to  this  catholicity.  Papacy  or  Prelacy  can  no  more 
do  this  than  Napoleonic  imperialism  could  give 
expression  to  the  catholicity  of  human  freedom. 
Catholicity,  moreover,  is  an  instinct  of  Presbyterianism. 
In  the  Book  of  Discipline  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland, 
as  early  as  1581,  it  is  declared,  ''  Beside  these  assem- 
blies, there  is  another  more  general  kind  of  assembly, 
an  universal  assembly  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  the 
world,  which  was  commonly  called  an  ecumenic 
council,  representing  the  universal  Church,  which  is 
the  body  of  Christ." 

Rutherford  in  "  Divine  Right  "  declares  that  ''  ecu- 
menic and  general  councils  should  he,  Jure  divino,  to 
the  second  coming  of  Christ "  (58). 

Gillespie  says  :  "  Besides  provincial  and  national 
synods,  an  ecumenical,  or  more  truly  a  general,  or, 
if  you  please,  an  universal  synod"  (Prop.  36). 

{a)  This  scheme  of  government  therefore  is  logical 
and  symmetrical.  Each  part  fits  to  its  fellow  without 
jar  or  friction  ;  the  body  develops  naturally  and  har- 
moniously into  full,  rounded  proportions,  without 
excrescences  or  monstrosities;  ''the  building,  fitly 
framed  together,  groweth  unto  an  holy  temple  in  the 
Lord." 

{!))  It  is  logical  and  symmetrical  because  it  is 
scriptural.     It    claims   to    be  Jure   divino.       Normal, 


PRINCIPLES    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM.  lOI 

healthy  Presbyterianism — Presbyterianism  which  has 
the  breath  of  life  in  its  nostril,  the  pulse-beat  of  life 
in  its  wrist — has  never  abated  a  jot  or  a  tittle  of  that 
claim.  If  the  system  be  not  jure  divino^  if  it  be  not 
scriptural,  let  us  know  it  and  let  us  have  done  with  it. 
Let  us  understand  ourselves,  brethren,  and  then  the 
world  will  understand  us.  Our  right  to  be  here  as  a 
General  Presbyterian  Council  rests  on  the  fact  that 
our  system  in  government  as  well  as  in  doctrine  is 
jure  divino.  Our  catholicity  is  not  to  be  maintained 
by  a  dilution  of  our  Presbyterianism  ;  we  are  not  to 
reach  comprehension  by  beating  out  the  gold  of  the 
sanctuary  until  it  becomes  so  thin  that  it  can  be  put 
to  the  base  purposes  of  tinfoil.  If  our  system  be  not 
jure  divino,  we  as  Presbyterians,  especially  as  a  Pres- 
byterian General  Council,  have  no  right  to  exist.  Let 
us  not  be  ashamed  of  our  birthright  ;  above  all,  let 
us  not  sell  it  at  Esau's  price. 

Boast  they  of  apostolical  succession  ?  We  claim 
patriarchal  succession.  Presbyterianism  is  older  by 
millenniums  than  the  apostles.  The  apostles  only 
take  their  place  in  the  unbroken  line  of  Presbyterian- 
ism, which  had  been  in  successful  operation  for  thou- 
sands of  years  before  Peter  cast  his  first  net  or  caught 
his  first  fish.  At  Horeb,  in  the  light  of  the  burning 
bush,  nee  tanien  consumebatur,  Moses  received  his 
great  commission,  which  ran  thus  :  "  Go,  gather  the 
elders  of  Lsrael  together."  Jehovah  sent  Moses  down 
to  Egypt  to  convene  the  Presbytery.  Through  the 
elders,  the  representatives  of  the  people,  he  was  to 
act,  and  through  them  he  did  act.  From  the  burning 
bush  at  Horeb,  Moses  went  to  Presbytery.  There 
were  Presbyterians  ages  before   Peter  was  born,  or 


I02  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Rome  was  builded,  or  Prelacy  or  Papacy  was  ever 
heard  or  dreamed  of.  We  date  far  beyond  apostolic 
times.  One  purpose  runs  through  the  ages.  The 
Church  is  one  in  all  dispensations.  There  is  but  one 
plan  of  salvation.  Abel  was  saved  through  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb.  At  Sinai,  and  during  the  sojourn  in 
the  desert,  the  elders  represented  the  people.  The 
establishment  of  the  monarchy  left  the  Presbyterial 
government  of  the  Israelitish  Church  intact.  Let  it 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Israelitish  Church  and 
state  were  not  identical.  Gillespie  and  Rutherford 
set  that  at  rest  for  ever. 

The  government  of  the  synagogues  was  Presby- 
terian. The  death  of  Christ  abolished  the  temple 
service,  which  was  sacrificial  and  ritual.  There  was 
no  more  need  for  altar,  or  priest,  or  sacrifice.  Christ 
fulfilled  the  law  by  taking  the  place  of  the  types. 
When  the  temple  service  was  thus  abolished  there 
remained  the  form  and  service  of  the  synagogue  ;  and 
the  first  converts  being  Jews,  the  synagogue  model 
was  ready  to  hand.  There  was  no  revolution  ;  when 
ritualism  was  abolished  by  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  the 
Presbyterianism  of  Moses  remained.  There  is  not  a 
scintilla  of  evidence  for  any  other  form  of  government 
in  the  New  Testament.  Diocesan  bishops  are  un- 
known to  the  New  Testament.  Neither  is  there  any 
trace  of  Independency  or  Congregationalism  in 
Judaism. 

The  lines  of  the  covenant  run  from  one  dispensa- 
tion to  another  unbroken,  only  expanding  so  as  to 
embrace  all  who  shall  believe,  of  all  nations,  together 
with  their  children. 

The  system  is  scriptural,  and  because  scriptural  it 


PRINCIPLES    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM.  IO3 

is  logical  and  symmetrical.  It  is  not  first  made  logi- 
cal, and  Scripture  made  to  square  with  it,  but  it  is 
drawn  directly  from  the  Word  of  God,  not  cunningly 
framed  to  meet  some  exigency  or  expediency,  not  ac- 
cordi<ig  to  any  prepossessions.  The  eternal  thought 
of  Jehovah  takes  form  and  visibility  in  just  and  due 
proportion.  Presbyters  are  identical  with  bishops  in 
New  Testament  usage.  On  this  point  there  is  an 
unbroken  chain  of  authorities  from  Augustine  to  the 
present  Bishop  Lightfoot. 

Paul  called  presbyters  of  the  Church  of  Ephesus 
bishops  (Acts  xx.  17,  28). 

The  apostles  ordained  them  elders  in  every  church 
(Acts  xiv.  23). 

Peter,  himself  an  elder,  charges  elders  as  bishops, 
overseers,  and  pastors  of  the  flock,  but  not  *'  lords  over 
God's  heritage." 

Presbyters  were  ordained  by  the  laying  on  of  hands 
of  the  Presbytery  (i  Tim.  iv.  14). 

An  accusation  against  a  presbyter  could  not  be 
entertained  except  in  and  by  Presbytery  before  two 
or  three  witnesses  (i  Tim.  v.  19).  A  presbyter  is 
entitled  to  a  fair  trial  by  his  peers.  That  was  Paul's 
presbyter,  according  to  the  glorious  Samuel  Ruther- 
ford. Throughout  the  Bible  from  end  to  end  the 
Church  is  Presbyterian,  from  the  times  of  Moses  to 
and  through  the  times  of  the  apostles — from  the 
Shekinah  of  the  burning  bush  to  the  Apocalypse  of 
John.  Jehovah  sent  Moses  to  the  elders  of  Israel, 
and  in  the  Apocalypse  the  elders,  together  with  angels 
and  cherubim,  worship  and  preach  and  sing  the  new 
song  in  company  with  the  countless  multitude  before 
the  throne.     In  the  visions  of  John  there  are  no  prel- 


I04  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

ates,  but  the  elders  are  there,  and  are  there  representa- 
tively. From  the  household  of  the  antediluvian 
patriarch  to  the  worship  of  the  apocalyptic  Church  in 
heaven,  the  thought  and  scheme  and  spirit  of  the 
Bible  are  Presbyterian. 

(c)  And,  being  scriptural,  it  is  historical. 

That  apostolical  Presbyterianism  was  in  the  third 
century  superseded  by  Prelacy  is  only  too  obviously 
true,  but  this  Prelacy  came  not  by  the  door  of  scrip- 
tural authority,  but,  like  a  thief  and  a  robber,  climbed 
up  some  other  way.  From  Judaism  and  paganism  it 
crept  in,  bringing  with  it  altars,  priests,  sacrifices,  and 
the  elaborate  ritual  appropriate  to  these  ideas. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  whenever  and  wherever  a 
witness  for  the  truth  arose,  who  by  the  study  of  the 
Word  of  God  had  been  instructed  and  quickened,  and 
who,  thus  instructed  and  quickened,  desired  to  lead  the 
Church  back  to  apostolical  simplicity  and  purity,  there 
we  find  a  Presbyterian.  This  is  true  of  all  the  fore- 
runners of  the  Reformers  and  of  all  the  Reformers  ; 
and  in  every  country  the  Reformation  was  conducted 
on  Presbyterian  principles  except  in  England.  Prel- 
atists  say  Presbyterianism  is  not  historical,  but  it  is 
historical  in  apostolical  times  and  in  the  best  ages  in 
the  world's  life.  If  it  ever  is  submerged  it  is  in  the 
days  of  the  deepest  corruption,  when  it  is  confessed 
that  Prelacy  held  the  field. 

Nor  is  Presbyterianism  simply  a  form  of  ecclesiol- 
ogy,  but,  going  as  it  always  does  to  the  Word  of  God, 
it  there  finds  a  system  of  doctrine  which  is  much 
more  important  and  precious  than  any  form  of  polity. 
Excellent  as  our  form  of  government  is,  it  is  withal 
only   the   casket   which    contains   and  conserves  the 


PRINCIPLES    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM.  I05 

treasure  of  sound  doctrine.  We  put  doctrine  first, 
form  of  government  secondary — the  form  only  to  give 
proper  expression  and  efficiency  to  the  doctrine.  So 
that,  with  all  its  strength  and  clearness  of  conviction, 
Presbyterianism  is  catholic  and  charitable  in  spirit  and 
in  sympathy. 

Presbyterianism,  then,  is  not  a  mere  form  or  badge, 
but  a  system  of  doctrines  and  principles,  the  form 
being  appropriate  to  the  doctrines,  the  history  of 
v^rhich  can  be  traced  back  along  a  line  of  fire  to  the 
Apostle  Paul,  and  thence  to  the  burning  bush  at  Horeb. 
The  true  line  of  succession  does  not  consist  in  the 
unbroken  continuity  of  empty,  extra-scriptural  forms 
and  ceremonies,  but  in  the  continuous  holding  forth 
and  passing  forward  of  the  vital  doctrines  of  the  Gos- 
pel, accompanied  by  the  spirit  and  power  of  true 
godliness.  The  line  passes  on  from  Abel,  the  first 
martyr,  to  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam  ;  from 
Enoch  to  Noah,  the  preacher  of  righteousness  ;  from 
Noah  to  Abraham  ;  from  Abraham  to  Moses  ;  from 
Moses  to  Paul  ;  from  Paul  to  Augustine  ;  from 
Augustine  to  Claudius  of  Turin  ;  from  Claudius  to 
the  Waldenses  in  their  Alpine  fastnesses,  to  Succat, 
commonly  known  as  St.  Patrick,  a  good,  sound  Pres- 
byterian ;  from  Succat  through  the  Culdees  ;  thence 
through  every  witness  of  the  truth  during  the  Middle 
Ages;  thence  through  the  Reformers.  Along  the 
whole  line  stakes  and  fagots  have  blazed,  and  along 
the  whole  line  Presbyterian  blood  has  been  sprinkled 
and  ashes  of  martyred  Presbyterians  have  been 
scattered. 

Kings,  prophets,  patriarchs,  all  have  part 
Along  the  sacred  line, 


I06.  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

This  system  is  scriptural,  logical,  and  symmetrical. 
The  form  is  not  a  mere  shell,  but  is  a  body  for  vital 
forces  which  live  and  move  and  work  ;  which  work, 
moreover,  within  prescribed  limits  according  to 
established  laws.  We  are  not  dealing  with  dead 
forms,  but  with  living  principles.     For  example  : 

I.  The  headship  of  Christ  as  held  by  Presbyterians 
renders  Papacy  impossible.  Christ  is  King  alone, 
and  has  on  earth  no  vicar.  He  has  no  deputy,  and 
needs  none,  and  he  who  usurps  such  an  office  pre- 
sumptuously puts  himself  in  the  place  of  God.  Christ 
has  no  vicar,  but  he  as  King  sends  out  his  ambassa- 
dors, his  ministers,  and  they  declare  his  will,  they 
preach  the  Word.  They  are  not  to  minister  at  an 
altar,  not  to  parody  the  one  infinite  sacrifice  of  the 
Son  of  God  ;  nor  are  they  sent  to  amuse  or  astonish 
the  people  with  the  fancies  and  crudities  of  their  own 
imaginations,  but  to  declare  the  will  and  counsel  of 
the  ever-living,  all-ruling  King.  This  will  of  the  King 
has  been  written,  put  on  record  for  us  in  his  Word,  and 
this  is  our  rule,  our  only  rule,  our  sufficient  rule. 

This  sound,  simple  principle  sweeps  utterly  away  all 
theories  of  tradition,  all  theories  oiquodsejuper^  quodubi- 
que  et  quod  ab  omnibus,  and  all  theories  of  development. 

All  intelligent  and  honest  papists  and  prelatists 
know  that  their  systems  are  not  found  in  the  Bible, 
and  on  that  account  they  scout  the  idea  of  the  suffi- 
ciency of  Scripture  :  hence  they  base  these  systems  on 
expediency,  decency  ;  then  they  have  fallen  back  on 
tradition,  antiquity,  Church  history,  the  consensus  of 
the   ante-Nicene  fathers  f  but   being  ignominiously 

*  Note  by  Eds. — It  is  "sure  that  nothing  like  modern  Episco- 
pacy existed  before  the  close  of  the  first  century." — Dean  Stanley. 


PRINCIPLES    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM.  107 

routed  from  these  positions  b}^  advancing  scholarship, 
Moehler  suggested,  and  Cardinal  Newman  elabo- 
rated, a  theory  of  development  which  can  account  for 
the  Papacy  apart  from  apostolic  authority.  Is  it  not 
suggestive,  is  it  not  decisive  against  them,  that  all 
these  extreme  prelatic  theories,  and  just  in  proportion 
to  their  intensity,  discredit  the  sufficiency  of  Scripture  ? 
In  the  magical  hands  of  Newman  this  development 
performs  the  most  wonderful  feats.  He  makes  the 
Incarnation  to  be  the  antecedent  of  the  doctrine  of 
mediation  ;  this  develops  into  the  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement,  and  that  into  the  doctrine  of  the  mass 
and  the  worship  of  saints.  In  other  words,  the 
divinity  and  incarnation  of  our  Lord  develop  into  the 
worship  of  saints  and  relics.  From  the  same  source 
he  draws  the  sacramental  principle,  and  this  develops 
into  the  seven  sacraments,  the  unity  of  the  Church, 
the  Holy  See,  authority  of  Councils,  sanctity  of  rites, 
veneration  of  holy  places,  shrines,  images,  furniture, 
vessels,  and  vestments.  "  The  doctrine  of  the  sacra- 
ments leads  to  the  doctrine  of  justification  ;  justifica- 
tion, to  that  of  original  sin  ;  original  sin,  to  the  merit 
of  celibacy."  With  such  a  theory  he  only  needs  the 
last  law  of  development  which  he  lays  down — viz., 
"Chronic  Continuance" — to  be  able  to  achieve  any- 
thing by  development  without  either  Scripture  or  his- 
tory, and  for  that  matter  without  reason  or  common 
sense. 

The  headship  of  Christ  is  potent  against  Popery, 
so  also  against  Erastianism.  To  the  Church  is  given 
no  sword,  but  the  power  of  the  keys.  The  State 
bears  the  sword,  the  Church  the  keys,  and  Christ 
alone  the  sceptre. 


Io8  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Ministerial  parity  as  a  principle  is  sharp,  keen,  dis- 
tinctive, and  far-reaching  in  its  sweep  and  power.  It 
is  a  two-edged  ploughshare  which  cuts  up  by  the 
roots  Prelacy  and  the  very  beginnings  of  hierarchical 
order,  distinction,  supremacy.  As  a  principle  this  is 
the  touchstone  of  Presbyterianism.  Departure  from 
this  simple  principle  early  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  astounding  claims  and 
achievements  of  the  Papacy  of  Hildebrand  ;  and 
departure  from  it,  however  slight,  is  always  fraught 
with  danger. 

Ministerial  parity  implies  a  ministry.  Presbyteri- 
anism holds  no  uncertain  views  on  this  subject,  but 
sound  scriptural  views,  which  the  world  greatly  needs 
to  hear.  There  is  a  Christian  ministry, y^^/v  divino, 
and  the  sacred  functions  of  this  office — preaching 
the  Word  and  administering  the  sacraments — are  not 
to  be  assumed  or  usurped  by  anyone's  taking  this 
honor  to  himself  ;  but  men  are  to  enter  this  office 
according  to  the  order  laid  down  in  the  Word  of  God. 

If  a  man  be  called  to  preach,  he  is  called  of  God, 
and  called  according  to  the  divine  ordinance.  Here 
again  we  find  in  Presbyterianism  a  ploughshare,  which 
cuts  up  by  the  roots  the  pestiferous  weeds  of  Plym- 
outhism,  and  all  forms  of  ecclesiastical  insubordina- 
tion and  anarchy  :  and  may  God  speed  the  plough- 
share I 

The  office  of  Ruling  Elder  gives  the  people  a 
representation  in  all  ecclesiastical  courts,  and  the 
people  having  a  right  to  choose  their  own  officers, 
the  heart  of  the  Church  is  thus  brought  near  to  the 
people,  and  the  heart  of  the  people  is  kept  near  the 
Church, 


PRINCIPLES    OF    PRESKYTERIANISM.  \og 

Presbyterianism  is  an  impregnable  bulwark  against 
spiritual  oligarchy  and  spiritual  monarchy  ;  and  also 
against  sacerdotalism,  sacramentarianism,  and  ritual- 
ism. A  Church  truly  Presbyterian  can  never  become 
ritualistic,  because  ritualism  is  extra-scriptural.  Even 
on  the  theory  that  the  Christian  Church  is  modelled 
after  the  temple  service,  it  by  no  means  follows  that 
the  Church  must  be  prelatic  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it 
is  quite  true  that  the  Levitical  priests  were  not  prel- 
ates, nor  was  the  system  in  any  of  its  features  prelatic. 
But  the  temple  service  was  abrogated  by  the  one 
infinite  sacrifice,  offered  once  for  all  by  our  Great 
High  Priest.  Priesthood,  altar,  sacrifice,  types,  all 
vanished  in  the  presence  of  the  Antitype.  He  is  a 
priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,  not 
after  the  order  of  Aaron.  He  has  no  successor  in 
office.  Who  now  dares  obtrude  himself  into  the 
sanctuary  as  priest  ?  who  dares  to  build  again  Jewish 
altars  and  to  usurp  the  prerogatives  of  the  one  High 
Priest  who,  in  the  heavenly  sanctuary,  ever  lives  to 
intercede  ? 

What  a  pitiable  spectacle  it  is  to  see  a  poor  mortal, 
tricked  out  in  his  vestments,  manipulate  a  wafer  and 
call  it  a  sacrifice  !  With  this  sacerdotal  idea  comes 
ritualism  in  all  its  modes,  degrees,  and  extremes. 
Presbyterianism  knows  but  one  King  and  Head  of 
the  Church,  and  but  one  High  Priest  and  Mediator, 
who  "  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God." 
The  dowry  through  his  blood  is  the  universal  priest- 
hood of  believers.     This  is  Presbyterian  sacerdotalism. 

Presbyterianism  gives  strength  and  security  just 
where  these  are  needed,  and  gives  this  strength  and 
security    on    scriptural    foundations.      It    has   liberty 


no  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

with  Strength  as  against  the  Papacy,  and  strength 
with  liberty  as  against  Independency.  "  Strength 
and  beauty  are  in  his  sanctuary."  We  are  not 
ashamed  of  our  polity  and  form  of  government.  We 
are  not  ashamed  of  its  origin,  of  its  history,  of  its 
past,  of  its  present,  of  its  hopes  for  the  future. 

Presbyterianism  is  liberal,  charitable,  unchurching 
no  one,  attaching  more  importance  to  purity  of 
doctrine  and  of  life  than  to  any  form  of  government, 
and  is  ready  always  with  a  good  conscience  to  fellow- 
ship with  all  who  "hold  the  Head  ";  and  so  in  con- 
troversy she  has  always  been  on  the  defensive  ;  but 
when  attacked  she  has  always  shown  that  she  is  able 
to  take  care  of  herself  and  the  precious  interests  com- 
mitted to  her.  We  are  willing  and  anxious  to  live  in 
peace  and  in  charity  and  good-will  toward  all  men, 
but  if  prelatists  persist  in  unchurching  us,  and  in 
spurning  Presbyterian  ordination,  we  retort  by  saying, 
"Your  Prelacy  is  unwarranted  by  Scripture  ;  and  if 
you  have  nothing  better  than  this  figment  of  apostoli- 
cal succession,  then  your  bishops  are  no  bishops,  and 
your  Church  is  not  a  true  Church."  We  are  Episco- 
palians, true  Presbyterian  Episcopalians. 


IV. 

THE   HISTORY   OF  PREACHING. 


IV. 

THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.* 

Fathers  and  Brethren  of  the  Board  of  Direct- 
ors, AND  Chi#stian  Friends  of  this  Assembly  : 
It  is  expected  that  I  should  discuss,  on  this  occasion, 
some  subject  connected  with  the  department  the 
charge  of  which  has  lately  been  devolved  upon  me  by 
the  Supreme  Judicatory  of  the  Church.  With  what 
sincere  shrinking  and  self-distrust  I  enter  upon  its 
duties,  I  need  not  here  express.  As  appropriate  to 
the  chair  of  History  and  Homiletics  which  I  am  to 
fill,  I  have  chosen  for  my  theme  to-night,  "  The 
History  of  Preaching." 

In  Eden,  at  the  cool  of  the  day,  when  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  was  heard  in  the  garden,  preaching  be- 
gan. That  was  the  first  religious  instruction  given 
to  a  man  as  a  fallen  creature  needing  salvation  ;  and 
that  voice  was  the  voice  of  Him  who  afterward 
preached  on  the  mountain-sides  and  the  seashores  of 
Judea.  The  Messianic  promise  in  that  sermon  con- 
tains the  essence  of  all  evangelical  preaching  ever 
since  and  till  the  end  of  time.  It  is  the  text  of  which 
Redemption  is  a  divine  elaboration — the  bud  of  which 
prophecy  and  its  fulfillment  are  the  blossom,  and  a 
Redeemer  crowned  and  a  Church  triumphant,  the 
glorious   fruit. 

"  At  the  inauguration  of  the  author  as  Professor  in  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary,  April  27,  1858. 


114  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

This,  therefore,  is  the  beginning  and  the  basis  of 
all  preaching. 

The  first  distinguished  preacher  of  whom  we  have 
any  account  is  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam.  He 
had  the  primary  requisites  of  his  ofifice — a  vigorous 
faith  and  an  ardent  piety.  He  enforced  his  precepts 
by  a  consistent  practice.  His  life  was  "visible 
rhetoric."  While  yet  a  young  man,  according  to  the 
standard  of  that  age,  "  God  took  %iim  "  from  the 
pulpit  on  earth  to  the  choir  in  heaven.  Jude  gives 
us  an  idea  of  his  preaching.  The  godlessness  that 
brought  the  Deluge  was  then  rapidly  increasing. 
Against  this,  and  amidst  this,  he  lifted  up  his  voice  in 
no  timid  or  ambiguous  tones.  He  fearlessly  pointed 
men  to  the  judgment  seat  and  the  pains  of  an  eternal 
retribution  :  and  his  course  was  approved,  for  before 
his  translation  "  he  had  the  testimony  that  he  pleased 
God." 

Noah  was  "  a  preacher  of  righteousness  " — *'  was 
perfect  in  his  generation,"  and  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury preached  to  the  skeptical  antediluvians.  This 
we  know  ;  his  style  and  manner  are  subjects  of  con- 
jecture. 

As  early  as  the  days  of  Moses,  elocution  was 
regarded  as  an  important  element  of  a  preacher's 
success.  When  pleading  to  be  excused  from  the 
mission  to  his  brethren  in  bondage,  his  language  is, 
"  O  !  my  Lord,  I  am  not  eloquent :  but  I  am  slow  of 
speech,  and  of  a  slow  tongue."  And  the  Lord  said, 
"  Is  not  Aaron,  the  Levite,  thy  brother  ?  I  know 
that  Jie  can  speak  well.''  It  is  absurd,  indeed,  to 
attribute  to  Aaron  theatrical  tones  and  attitudes,  but 
it  is  equally  absurd    to  suppose  that   his  discourses 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  II5 

were  rude  deliverances,  with  no  regard  to  emphasis, 
intonation,  or  gesture.  We  have  the  word  of  God  for 
it,  that  he  could  speak  well,  and  the  crisis  justified  his 
speaking  as  well  as  he  could. 

Ezekiel's  discourses  were  set  off  by  an  exquisite 
delivery.  He  had  "  a  pleasant  voice,"  and  had  it 
completely  under  his  control.  So  flexibly  obedient 
was  every  organ  of  speech  that  he  is  compared  to 
one  who  could  play  well  on  an  instrument.  Those 
who  cared  nothing  for  the  matter  of  his  sermons  were 
charmed  and  enchanted  by  the  manner  of  them. 
They  listened  with  rapture  to  the  melody  of  his  voice 
and  the  music  of  his  periods.  "  He  was  to  them  as 
a  very  lovely  song."  Good  elocution,  therefore,  is 
by  no  means  a  modern  accomplishment. 

Samuel  was  the  founder  of  theological  seminaries. 
The  first  institution  of  the  kind  was  at  Naioth,  near 
Ramah.  Others  were  afterward  established  at 
Jericho,  Gilgal,  and  Bethel,  whither  Elijah  and  Elisha 
often  resorted.  Under  these  venerable  and  inspired 
teachers,  young  men  were  trained  for  the  prophetic 
ofBce  ;  and  from  these  seats  of  sacred  learning  they 
went  forth  in  the  spirit  of  their  great  masters.  From 
this  time  onward  we  have  a  succession  of  prophets, 
which  extends  in  an  unbroken  line  to  Malachi  ;  and 
an  illustrious  succession  it  is  !  They  not  only  served 
their  own  generation,  but  have  left  behind  them 
works  that  will  outlive  the  world.  So  long  as  there 
is  a  saint  or  a  sinner  on  the  earth,  their  words  will  be 
a  power  in  the  hearts  of  mankind. 

Almost  every  species  of  style,  temperament,  elo- 
quence, and  delivery  had  its  representative  among 
these  men.     In  this  succession  was  the  distinguished 


Il6  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

missionary  and  street-preacher  of  Nineveh,  whose 
Startling  sermons  brought  a  haughty  king  and  two 
milHons  of  his  dissipated  subjects  to  repentance. 
Here,  too,  we  find  the  uneducated  but  sublime  and 
fearless  Amos  ;  the  concise  and  pungent  Hosea  ;  the 
Homer  of  prophets,  Isaiah  ;  the  fervid  and  imagina- 
tive Joel  ;  the  copious  and  elegant  Micah  ;  the  glow- 
ing and  graphic  Nahum  ;  the  tender-hearted  Jere- 
miah, the  John  of  the  Old  Testament  ;  the  prayerful 
Habakkuk  ;  Daniel,  the  Christian  statesman,  who  went 
to  his  closet  for  inspiration  and  political  wisdom  ;  the 
tragic  Ezekiel,  the  y^schylus  of  the  Hebrews  ;  the 
earnest  revivalists,  Haggai  and  Zechariah  ;  and  last  of 
all,  Malachi,  on  whose  lips  prophecy  expired. 

Preaching  from  a  pulpit  and  on  a  text  began  in 
the  time  of  Ezra.  History  has  afforded  us  few  such 
scenes  as  we  have  in  this  reformer's  preaching  in  the 
square  before  the  Water  Gate  in  Jerusalem.  Upon 
a  temporary  "  pulpit  of  wood  which  they  had  made 
for  the  purpose,"  he  stood  and  preached  "  from  the 
morning  till  midday,"  to  a  congregation  of  fifty  thou- 
sand souls.  That  the  young  preacher  of  Surrey  Gar- 
dens should  keep  the  attention  of  ten  thousand  for 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  is  considered  wonderful,  but 
here  the  attention  of  five  times  that  number  was  kept 
for  six  hours.  God's  spirit  was  there,  and  a  great 
revival  was  the  consequence.  That  public  square 
became  a  Bochim.  The  weeping  of  the  people  was  so 
excessive  that  it  had  to  be  restrained.  A  correct  read- 
ing and  a  faithful  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  were  the 
means.  That  day  forms  an  interesting  section  in  the 
history  of  preaching.  Here,  too,  dates  the  origin  of 
synagogues,  which  continued  to  multiply  till  the  com- 


THE    HISTORY    OK    PREACHING.  II7 

ing    of    Christ,  and    in    which,  during    all  this    time, 
preaching  was  regularly  kept  up. 

Now  we  glide  in  silence  over  a  period  of  four  cen- 
turies, nothing  special  arresting  our  attention,  until  we 
are  startled  by  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilder- 
ness. "  In  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias,"  who  was 
his  model  and  whose  mantle  had  fallen  upon  him, 
John  the  Baptist  went  forth  to  preach  to  a  careless, 
apathetic  generation.  Earnest,  vehement,  and  orig- 
inal, he  drew  great  crowds  to  hear  him.  His  elo- 
quence thrilled  like  an  electric  current  through  the 
land.  Such  was  his  popularity  that  politicians 
trembled  for  the  safety  of  the  state  ;  and  had  he 
been  a  demagogue,  he  could  have  bidden  the  people 
bear  him  in  triumph  to  a  throne.  As  it  was,  such 
a  hold  had  he  upon  the  popular  heart  that  Herod  was 
afraid  to  put  him  to  death.  With  his  coarse  raiment, 
solitary  habits,  and  simple  diet,  he  would,  no  doubt, 
nowadays,  be  considered  eccentric,  as  perhaps  he  was 
then  considered  ;  but  there  was  an  inspiration  and 
power  in  his  eccentricities.  He  was  second  to  no 
human  preacher  whose  words  ever  woke  the  echoes  of 
this  earth.  Unawed  by  greatness  or  authority,  his 
voice  rang  out  as  distinctly  and  decidedly  against  sin 
in  the  court  as  in  the  wilderness,  on  the  commons  or 
by  the  river-side.  At  the  cost  of  his  life  he  rebuked 
immorality.  We  have  such  an  estimate  of  him  as  we 
have  of  no  other  mortal.  He  whose  forerunner  he 
was  says  of  him,  ''  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Among 
them  that  are  born  of  women,  there  hath  not  arisen  a 
greater  than  John  the  Baptist." 

The  ministry  of  the  Great  Preacher  let  us  pass  in 
awful   silence.      "  He  spake  as    never   man    spake." 


Il8  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

The  child  plays  and  prattles  around  the  little  cascade, 
but  stands  awe-struck  and  speechless  at  Niagara.  We 
are  on  holy  ground,  we  are  in  the  presence  of  a  divine 
subject — let  us,  in  adoring  silence,  pass  on. 

In  the  apostolic  age,  Peter  and  Paul  are  the  promi- 
nent figures  that  attract  the  attention  of  the  most 
casual  and  careless  observers.  They  are  the  repre- 
sentative preachers  of  their  day — the  one  an  apostle 
to  the  Jews,  the  other  to  the  Gentiles — the  one  a 
domestic,  the  other  a  foreign  missionary. 

Ever  since  the  Fall,  the  boundaries  of  revealed  truth 
had  been  gradually  extending,  the  horizon  of  man's 
spiritual  vision  enlarging,  and  the  topics  of  religious 
discourse  multiplying.  By  the  life  and  death  of 
Christ,  the  armory  of  the  Christian  orator  had  been 
replenished  with  wonderful  facts  and  fulfilments.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  had  actually  come.  All  the 
materials,  equipments,  furniture,  and  resources  neces- 
sary for  the  full  operation  of  a  Christian  ministry 
were  ready.  The  crucifixion,  resurrection,  and  ascen- 
sion  were  recent  facts,  to  be  wielded  with  prodigious 
power  by  the  apostles.  The  day  of  Pentecost,  there- 
fore, is  an  era  in  preaching.  The  pulpit  occupied 
a  higher  level  that  day  than  ever  it  had  before — com- 
manded a  more  extensive  and  astonishing  view  than 
ever  before,  and  received,  as  its  legitimate  possession, 
topics  which  it  never  reached  till  then.  Peter  then 
announced  that  the  work  of  redemption  was  complete. 
Christ  actually  crucified  was  preached  for  the  first 
time.  It  was  an  illustrious  inauguration  of  the  New 
Dispensation.  Three  thousand  souls  will  celebrate  it 
in  heaven  forever  and  forever. 

The  sermon  was  a  model  one.    It  is  thoroughly  bibli- 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  II9 

cal.  Verbal  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  com- 
pose fully  the  half  of  it,  and  what  is  not  in  the  letter, 
is  in  the  spirit  of  the  Bible.  It  is  evangelical.  Christ 
is  the  theme  throughout.  Every  sentence  is  a  tribute 
to  his  name,  and  work,  and  character  :  and  if  Peter 
was  the  first  Pope,  he  preached  a  very  different  doc- 
trine from  his  "  infallible  successors."  He  gives  no 
hint  of  any  Mediator  but  One.  He  gives  to  his  Re- 
deemer undivided  glory,  and  puts  upon  his  brow  an 
undivided  and  untarnished  crown. 

Had  the  sermon  been  delivered  in  our  time,  the 
preacher  would  be  pronounced,  by  some,  an  ultra- 
Calvinist.  He  hesitates  not  to  speak  of  ''  the  deter- 
minate counsel  of  God,"  and  makes  no  apology  for 
using  such  language. 

It  is  bold.  He  charges  his  congregation  with  Dei- 
cide.  He  valiantly  takes  up  and  adopts  the  reproach- 
ful title  the  Jews  had  given  his  Saviour,  and  preaches 
to  them  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Nor  was  it  a  harangue 
without  order  or  object.  His  purpose  was  to  prove  the 
Messiahship  of  Christ,  and  the  accountability  of  his 
hearers,  and  never  for  an  instant  does  he  lose  sight  of 
it.  He  advances  to  his  conclusion  as  directly  as  an 
arrow  goes  to  the  mark.  There  are  no  digressions  or 
episodes  until  he  announces  his  "Therefore."  Those 
who  look  upon  preparation  and  premeditation  as  a 
reflection  upon  the  promised  grace  and  assistance  of 
God,  find  little  to  support  their  opinion  in  this  great 
inaugural  sermon  of  the  New  Dispensation. 

This  was  the  kind  of  preaching  that  filled  Jeru- 
salem with  the  doctrines  of  the  apostles,  and  made 
the  proud  Sanhedrim  tremble  under  the  conscious 
guilt  of  the  Redeemer's  blood. 


I20  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

In  the  meantime  a  diligent  young  Jew  was  prose- 
cuting his  Studies  on  the  banks  of  the  Cydnus,  stroll- 
ing for  relaxation  through  the  woods  that  lined  its 
banks,  or,  for  more  vigorous  exercise,  scaling  the 
craggy  tops  of  the  Taurus  mountains,  all  the  while 
nursing  his  pharisaic  prejudices  and  dreaming  of  pro- 
motion in  the  Church  of  his  fathers.  While  with 
callous  and  sunburnt  hands  Peter  was  plying  his  nets, 
this  ambitious  young  Hebrew  was  studying  law  with 
Gamaliel.  He  left  Jerusalem  amidst  the  conflicting 
joys  and  regrets  with  which  a  student  leaves  college  ; 
he  returns  to  the  city  with  the  fury  of  a  persecutor. 
He  was  one  of  the  mob  that  hurried  Stephen  to  his 
martyrdom.  This  horrible  tragedy  only  increased  his 
thirst  for  blood.  He  is  away  to  Damascus  in  pursuit 
of  his  prey.  Past  Bethel  and  Shiloh  and  Gilboa, , 
Ebal  and  Gerizim  and  Jacob's  Well,  the  fiery  young 
inquisitor  hurries  on  in  a  frenzy  of  bigotry  and 
pharisaic  zeal,  on  an  inhuman  errand  to  the  oldest 
city  in  the  world.  But  instead  of  persecuting  the 
Church,  he  preaches  Christ  when  he  gets  there.  In 
that  city,  rich  in  patriarchal  associations,  began  the 
ministry  of  Paul.  How  shall  we  get  his  dimen- 
sions ?  Spiritually  and  intellectually,  his  propor- 
tions are  gigantic.  Beside  him,  modern  preachers 
are  like  ordinary  sized  men  beside  the  Colossus  of 
Rhodes. 

At  Antioch,  where  first  arose  the  name  that  is  to  fill 
the  earth,  within  sight  of  the  grove  of  Daphne,  the 
first  farewell  meeting  for  missionaries  was  held. 
After  prayer  and  the  laying  on  of  hands,  and  we  can 
well  imagine,  tearful  partings,  "  Saul  and  Barnabas 
were   sent   away,"   the   simple   but   impressive  cere- 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  121 

monies  strangely  contrasting  with  the  orgies  in  the 
neighboring  grove. 

The  first  field  visited  by  these  regularly  appointed 
missionaries  was  the  island  of  Cyprus.  Amidst  the 
groves  of  Paphos,  where  Venus  is  fabled  to  have 
arisen  from  the  foam  of  the  sea,  they  preached  the 
Gospel.  From  this  place  Saul  carries  with  him  a  new 
name,  and  henceforth  Paul  becomes  the  prominent 
actor  in  the  Apostolic  Church.  Past  places  immortal 
in  history  he  presses  on  in  his  journey,  envying  not 
the  great  Athenian  the  combined  laurels  of  Salamis 
and  Plataea,  as  he  passes  the  spot  where  they  were 
won  in  one  day.  At  Perga  he  stops  to  preach  Christ 
to  the  devotees  of  Diana,  as  he  afterward  did  at 
Ephesus.  Up  through  the  mountain  passes  of 
Pisidia,  whose  ruggedness  and  dangers  had  worried 
the  patience  and  perseverance  of  two  whom  the  world 
calls  Great  J  "  in  perils  of  robbers,"  for  he  was  amidst 
dens  of  them  ;  with  blistered  feet  and  aching  limbs, 
he  toils  on  to  preach  to  the  citizens  of  the  Capital  for- 
giveness through  the  blood  of  the  Redeemer.  Thence 
he  goes  to  Iconium,  the  cradle  of  the  Ottoman  empire. 
Leaving  civilization,  he.  penetrates  the  wilds  of 
Lycaonia,  exploring  districts  where  "  water  was  sold 
for  money,"  to  preach  to  the  uncultivated  pagans  of 
Lystra  and  Derbe.  Weary  and  wounded,  scarred  and 
blackened  by  stoning,  he  turns  to  retrace  his  steps. 
Scorning  to  take  a  near  cut  home,  he  revisits  the 
scenes  of  his  persecutions  and  sufferings,  braves  again 
the  enmity  of  the  Jews  at  Iconium — dares  the  dangers 
of  the  Pisidian  passes — struggles  across  the  plains  of 
Attaleia — and,  once  more  at  Antioch,  gives  to  the 
Church  the  first  missionary  report. 


122  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Soon  he  is  away  on  a  second  tour.  Past  the  home 
of  his  childhood — over  the  Taurus  mountains — 
through  the  Cilician  gates  (a  narrow  defile,  for  the 
possession  of  which  Cyrus  and  Alexander  spent  both 
blood  and  treasure),  he  is  back  again  to  Derbe 
and  Lystra  and  Iconium.  He  spends  the  period  of 
sickness  and  convalescence  in  preaching  the  Gospel 
to  the  volatile  Galatians.  As  a  soldier  of  the  Cross 
he  treads  the  plains  of  Troy,  where  once  rattled  the 
Grecian  and  Trojan  war-chariots  ;  and  where  Alex- 
ander gathered  inspiration  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world,  at  the  tomb  of  Achilles,  he  girds  himself  for 
the  evangelization  of  Europe.  Bruised  and  sore, 
from  scourging  and  the  stocks,  he  leaves  Philippi 
and  goes  to  Thessalonica,  where,  after  the  arduous 
labors  of  a  day  of  missionary  life,  he  works  till  late  at 
night  at  his  trade  to  eke  out  a  frugal  subsistence. 
Persecution  chases  him  to  Berea.  His  enemies  dog 
him  to  this  retired  village.  As  a  fugitive  he  passes 
the  vale  of  Tempe  and  Olympus,  "the  home  of  the 
gods";  but  his  thoughts  go  higher  than  the  throne 
of  Jupiter,  and  trusting  to  a  mightier  power  than  the 
"  red  right  hand "  of  Olympus'  chief  he  sails  for 
Athens.  Classic  associations  cannot  detain  him 
there.  In  a  few  days  he  is  in  Corinth — the  Paris  of 
the  old  world — working  diligently  at  his  trade 
through  the  week  and  preaching  in  the  synagogue 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  in  the  intervals  of  his  toil  writ- 
ing letters  to  the  disciples  in  Thessalonica.  Once 
more  he  is  at  sea,  sailing  among  the  gem-like  islands 
of  the  T^gean.  He  stops  but  a  little  while  at 
Ephesus,  but  long  enough  to  preach  Christ.  Across 
the   Mediterranean  again  he   sails  to  Cagsarea,  visits 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  1 23 

Jerusalem,  and  goes  once  more  to  Antioch,  where  he 
was  ordained  as  a  missionar\'.  And  comes  he  to 
throw  up  his  commission?  No!  He  equips  him- 
self with  higher  resolves  and  renewed  zeal  for  greater 
conflicts  than  ever.  Toiling  through  his  native 
Cilicia,  through  Galatia  and  Phr3^gia,  he  redeems  his 
promise  and  comes  to  Ephesus.  Next  we  find  him 
at  Troas.  Across  the  ^gean  again,  he  visits  Neapo- 
lis  and  his  beloved  Philippians — poor,  but  liberal 
Philippians — and  from  this  point  pushes  his  mission- 
ary researches  almost  if  not  quite  to  the  shores  of 
the  Adriatic  :  then  down  through  Greece,  he  pays 
the  Corinthians  a  last  visit,  and  in  the  house  of  Gaius 
writes  the  immortal  letter  to  the  Romans.  Hired 
assassins  are  on  his  track,  and  he  is  driven  up 
through  the  north  of  Greece,  over  the  plains  where 
the  fate  of  Rome  as  a  republic  was  decided,  and 
across  the  fields  that  Homer  has  peopled  with  his 
heroes.  Again  he  is  on  the  ^gean.  The  scenery 
is  enchanting — classic  associations  are  swarming 
around  him,  and  he  can  appreciate  them  too,  but  his 
thoughts  and  his  heart  are  in  Ephesus.  Behold  the 
pastor  !  He  sends  a  message  to  the  elders  for  them 
to  meet  him  at  Miletus.  They  eagerly  comply,  and 
upon  the  seashore  hear,  for  the  last  time,  the  Gospel 
from  the  lips  of  their  beloved  Paul.  He  tears  him- 
self away  from  his  broken-hearted  congregation,  and 
is  soon  floating  again  over  the  blue  waters  of  the 
Mediterranean.  While  the  vessel  is  discharging 
freight  at  Tyre,  Paul  is  up  in  the  city  preaching. 
At  Caesarea  his  girdle  is  made  a  symbol  by  which  to 
predict  for  him  chains  and  sufferings  ;  but  his  own 
prophetic  instincts  had  anticipated  any    warning   of 


124  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

that  kind.  The  weeping  and  remonstrances  of  his 
friends  wring  his  heart,  but  the  prospect  of  martyr- 
dom moves  him  not.  The  prophetic  intimations 
were  not  false.  Scarcely  is  he  in  Jerusalem  till  he 
is  in  the  hands  of  a  mob.  Rescued  by  the  police 
from  a  violent  death,  he  is  likely  to  receive  as  little 
mercy  at  the  hands  of  the  civil  power.  He  is 
actually  stretched  on  the  rack,  and  but  for  the 
talismanic  words,  /  am  a  Roman  citizen^  would 
have  been  cruelly  tortured.  Forty  men  bind  them- 
selves by  an  oath  to  neither  sleep  nor  eat  till  they 
have  taken  Paul's  life.  By  an  escort  of  Roman 
soldiers,  therefore,  he  is  hurried  to  Csesarea,  and  is 
thence  sent  to  Rome  for  trial.  While  the  ship  is 
lying  at  the  wharf  at  Sidon,  the  apostle  is  on  shore 
engaged  in  pastoral  labor.  A  shipwrecked  prisoner, 
he  evangelizes  Malta.  After  a  long  and  disastrous 
voyage,  jaded  by  travel,  and  galled  by  fetters,  he 
comes  at  last  to  the  city  of  the  Caesars.  He  does 
not  wait  to  know  the  issue  of  his  trial.  He  is 
bound,  "  but  the  word  of  God  is  not  bound."  He 
throws  open  his  house  and  invites  the  people  to  his 
ministry,  and  to  it  they  come  in  crowds.  For  two 
years  he  preaches  constantly,  from  morning  till  night, 
his  chains  clanking  upon  him  at  every  gesture 
he  makes.  That  manacled,  emaciated  prisoner 
wields  in  Rome  a  power  mightier  than  that  of  Caesar 
or  the  Senate.  His  words  thrill  through  the  brave, 
hard  hearts  of  the  praetorian  guards.  He  has  con- 
verts in  Caesar's  household.  And  let  us  hope  at  least 
that  Seneca  learned  from  him  something  better  than 
Stoic  philosophy. 

At  last  he  is  at  liberty.    Surely  the  old  man  will  re- 


% 

THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  1 25 

tire  now  !  He  is  hardly  out  of  prison  until  he  is  away 
on  a  tour  of  pastoral  visitation  to  the  Eastern  churches, 
and  then  to  the  far  West,  accompHshing  his  long  con- 
templated visit  to  Spain.  Stooping  beneath  the 
weight  of  seventy  years,  his  constitution,  never 
rugged,  now  shattered  by  hardships  and  exposure,  he 
carries  the  Gospel  to  "  the  utmost  bounds  of  the 
West."  Then  northward  he  goes  to  "  those  inclem- 
ent shores,  which  the  lordly  Roman  shivered  when 
he  named,"  and,  if  tradition  is  to  be  believed,  he 
preached  in  the  streets  of  London,  then  returned  to 
Rome  and  received  his  crown. 

Such  was  preaching,  and  such  was  a  preacher's  life 
in  the  first  century.  Congregations  did  not  then 
assemble  in  solemn  churches,  and  sit  devoutly  in  their 
pews.  Paul  preached  to  the  Jew  in  the  synagogue, 
and  the  pagan  in  the  streets  ;  his  text  in  the  one 
instance  being  a  jVlessianic  prophecy,  in  the  other  an 
inscription  upon  an  idol  god.  He  adapted  his  lan- 
guage and  his  thoughts  to  the  unlettered  barbarian 
and  the  erudite  Athenian— to  the  Attic  philosopher 
and  the  Corinthian  merchant— to  the  lounger  in  the 
market  place  and  the  king  in  his  palace — to  the 
beggar  in  rags  and  to  Caesar  in  his  royal  purple. 
When  speaking  in  his  own  defence,  he  forgets  his 
cause  to  plead  the  cause  of  his  Master.  Dragged 
bleeding  from  an  infuriated  mob,  he  stops  on  the 
stairway  of  a  Roman  prison  to  entreat  his  per- 
secutors to  be  reconciled  to  God  ;  and  may  we 
not  presume  that  the  eloquence  which  made  the 
old  profligate  Felix  tremble,  would  also  startle  the 
young  wretch  Nero  ?  As  Paul  was  arraigned  at 
his   bar,  we  may   feel   assured  the  tyrant  would  not 


126  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

go  to  judgment  without  hearing  of  Jesus  and  his 
Atonement. 

The  Apostolic  age  was  succeeded  by  the  Patristic. 
After  the  death  of  the  apostles  the  prominent  minis- 
ters were  their  pupils,  the  apostolic  fathers,  some  of 
whom  had  seen  Christ  in  the  flesh. 

There  was  no  special  change  in  either  the  manner  or 
the  matter  of  preaching.  The  ministry  became  less 
itinerant  and  more  local.  As  yet  they  had  no  church 
edifices.  When  they  could,  they  availed  themselves 
of  the  synagogues.  Ordinarily  they  met  in  private 
dwellings.  Gains  is  called  the  host  of  the  whole 
Church,  because  ,they  assembled  at  his  house,  which 
was  convenient  and  commodious.  Benches  to  accom- 
modate the  hearers,  an  elevated  seat  for  the  preacher, 
and  a  table  for  the  elements  of  the  Supper,  consti- 
tuted the  simple  paraphernalia  of  these  primitive 
places  of  worship.  Their  meetings,  which,  according 
to  Pliny,  took  place  very  early  in  the  morning,  were 
social,  and  all  their  exercises  were  free  and  familiar. 
They  were  untrammeled  by  any  conventional  rules  or 
customs.  After  hearty  congregational  singing,  much 
prayer,  and  lengthy  readings  of  Scripture,  the  preacher 
delivered,  in  an  easy  conversational  style,  a  short 
sermon  on  some  portion  of  the  Scripture  that  had 
been  read. 

Their  intimacy  with  the  apostles  is  what  dis- 
tinguishes these  men,  whom  we  take  as  the  represent- 
ative preachers  of  their  age.  These  were  the  com- 
panions of  those  who  had  been  the  companions  of  the 
Lord.  They  were  brought  into  close  and  sacred  con- 
tact with  inspiration  and  apostolicity,  until  inspiration 
and  apostolicity  ceased.     As  these  men  received  the 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  1 27 

indorsement  aiul  approbation  of  John  and  Paul,  tliey 
need  no  vindication  of  ours. 

The  apostoHc  fathers  were  succeeded  by  the  apolo- 
gists, and  into  this  class  we  shall  admit  more  than 
those  technically  so  called,  including  all  from  Quad- 
ratus  to  Augustine. 

In  those  days  Christianity  needed  able  and  valiant 
defenders,  and  it  had  them.  Emperors,  philosophers, 
wits,  satirists,  humorists,  atheists,  infidels,  pagan 
zealots,  the  snarling  Cynic,  the  sensual  Epicurean,  the 
cold  Stoic,  the  proud  and  polished  disciple  of  Plato, 
and  the  Jew,  with  his  chronic  prejudices,  were  all  up 
in  arms  against  the  rising  sect. 

In  the  Roman  empire  religion  was  incorporated 
with  all  their  civil,  social,  and  domestic  relations.  A 
blow  at  their  religion,  therefore,  struck  their  whole 
civil  and  social  fabric.  Hence,  demagogues  and 
politicians  cried  havoc  to  Christianity  !  Men  who  in 
their  very  hearts  loathed  paganism  and  laughed  at  it, 
were  yet  furious  in  its  support  for  the  sake  of  the 
state.  The  conflict  between  the  two  powers  was  a 
death-struggle,  and  they  knew  it.  No  wonder  it  was 
desperate  and  bloody.  When  to  be  a  Christian  was  a 
capital  crime,  the  apologists  stood  up  nobly  in  defence 
of  the  truth. 

"  Tenterden  steeple  was  the  cause  of  Goodwin 
Sands."  Upon  the  Christians  was  heaped  the  blame 
of  all  calamities.  If  there  was  not  enough  rain  in 
Africa  or  too  much  in  Italy  ;  if  the  Nile  did  not  over- 
flow its  banks  or  if  the  Tiber  did  ;  if  there  was  an 
earthquake  in  Asia  or  a  fire  in  Rome  ;  a  pestilence  in 
Ethiopia  or  a  famine  in  Egypt,  it  was  all  attributed 
to  the  evil  influence  of  the  saints.     In  the  courts  of 


128  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

kings,  the  apologists  intrepidly  defended  their  religion 
from  all  such  attacks  and  aspersions. 

Pliny  had  scouted  the  idea  of  Providence,  had  pro- 
nounced immortality  a  dream,  the  nature  of  man  a  lie, 
and  had  lauded  suicide  as  a  virtue.  The  Stoics  saw 
nothing  better  than  obstinacy  in  the  heroic  fortitude 
of  the  martyrs,  and  it  was  gravely  debated  whether 
by  philosophy  it  might  not  be  possible  to  acquire  the 
same  intrepidity  as  the  Galileans  acquired  by  mad 
fanaticism.  The  fact  they  could  not  deny  ;  but  they 
would  neutralize  its  effect  by  attributing  it  to  a  wrong 
cause.  Miracles  were  classed  along  with  the  tricks 
of  magicians  and  vagabond  jugglers.  The  spread 
of  Christianity  was  accounted  for  by  the  extreme 
credulity  of  the  age.  The  Greek  scholar,  too,  came 
gayly  to  the  attack,  with  all  the  gallantry  of  a  knight- 
errant.  If  Lucian  had  a  shaft  of  wit  sharper  than  his 
wont,  he  winged  it  against  Christianity.  The  wisdom 
of  Celsus  was  scandalized  by  the  simplicity  of  faith. 
That  the  Gospel  was  offered  to  the  illiterate  and  the 
poor  on  the  same  terms  as  to  the  philosopher,  was  a 
mortal  offence  to  his  pride.  To  him,  humility  was 
meanness  ;  the  Atonement  was  his  scorn.  He  made 
himself  merry  over  the  supposed  uncomeliness  of 
Christ's  person.  Porphyry,  with  the  pinion  and  the 
eye  of  an  eagle,  swooped  over  the  field  of  sacred 
history  to  search  for  contradictions  and  discrepancies. 
Hierocles  hissed  on  the  hounds  of  persecution  ;  and, 
when  the  Church  was  torn  and  bleeding,  had  the  im- 
pudence to  address  ''  words  to  Christians  from  a  lover 
of  truth."  Old  sages,  and  heroes,  and  contemporary 
impostors  were  held  up  as  compeers,  if  not  superiors, 
of  Christ.     Against  all  these  the  apologists  defended 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  I29 

their  religion  manfully.  They  parried  blows,  come 
from  what  quarter  they  might.  In  the  presence  of  a 
power  that  had  their  lives  at  command,  they  spake 
out  heroically,  and  the  thanks  of  all  succeeding  ages 
are  due  to  them  for  it. 

But  these  men  were  earnest  preachers  as  well  as 
gallant  polemics.  Justin  Martyr  would  go  home 
from  contests  with  skilful  dialecticians,  where  all  his 
hellenistic  culture  was  called  into  active  requisition, 
to  meet  a  few  plain,  simple-hearted  disciples,  who 
were  awaiting  him  at  his  own  house,  or  go  to  some 
cave  or  other  secluded  spot  to  preach  the  Gospel 
to  those  who  were  ready  to  risk  their  lives  to  hear  it. 

Let  us  go  into  one  of  these  assemblies.  Every- 
thing, even  to  the  apparel  of  the  congregation,  is 
plain  and  unostentatious.  There  is  a  hearty,  sincere 
affection  between  the  members.  The  test  of  disciple- 
ship,  love  to  one  another,  is  there.  Christianity  has 
disenthralled  and  exalted  woman,  and  she  is  here 
along  with,  and  on  a  level  with,  her  husband.  An 
atmosphere  of  prayer  pervades  the  room.  These 
people  live  beneath  the  droppings  of  the  Mercy  Seat. 
They  begin  not  their  ploughing  in  the  fields  or  their 
labor  in  the  workshop  without  prayer.  Now  all  is  still- 
ness and  solemnity.  At  a  desk,  some  distance  from  the 
pulpit,  arises  the  reader.  He  is  a  youth,  possibly  a  boy 
ten  or  twelve  years  old.  He  reads  passages  from  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  which  are  heard  with  eager 
attention.  A  necessity  for  much  reading  of  Scripture 
in  public  arises  from  the  scarcity  and  costliness  of 
copies  of  the  Bible.  There  are  men  in  the  assembly 
who,  although  they  are  unable  to  read  a  word,  can 
nevertheless  repeat  the  greater  part  of  the  Bible  from 


130  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

hearing  it  read  at  Church.  The  reading  is  inter- 
spersed with  singing,  which,  although  it  is  not  artistic, 
is  powerful  enough  in  its  fervent  simplicity  to  make 
such  men  as  Augustine  weep.  After  the  devotional 
exercises,  the  preacher  from  his  seat — the  congrega- 
tion standing — delivers  his  sermon. 

Sermons  were  much  more  frequent  then  than  now. 
There  was  one  at  least  on  almost  every  day  in  the 
week  and  several  always  on  the  Sabbath,  two  or  three 
sometimes  during  the  same  service.  In  length  they 
varied  from  ten  minutes  to  two  hours.  In  structure 
they  were  simple,  mostly  expository.  Sometimes 
they  were  written  out  and  memorized  ;  sometimes 
they  were  read  from  manuscript  ;  sometimes  the  sub- 
ject was  studied,  and  the  speaker  clothed  his  thoughts 
as  he  went  along ;  sometimes  they  were  delivered 
from  short  notes,  and  sometimes  were  quite  extem- 
pore. 

The  illustrious  names  of  this  period — and  there  is 
a  host  of  them — need  not  feel  aggrieved  at  Chrysos- 
tom's  representing  them.  Augustine,  indeed,  was  a 
profounder  thinker  ;  Jerome,  a  better  scholar  ;  Atha- 
nasius,  an  abler  debater,  and  with  more  influence  in 
deliberative  bodies  ;  Origen  was  a  greater  critic  ;  the 
Gregories  were  more  learned  theologians  and  stronger 
controversialists ;  Tertullian  had  more  acumen  ; 
Ephraim  Syrus  had  a  more  splendid  fancy  ;  Basil  the 
Great  had  a  purer  style,  and  was  more  of  a  belles- 
lettres  scholar  ;  but  Chrysostom  was  pre-eminently 
the  preacher  of  the  age. 

He  grew  up  in  the  genial  sunshine  and  the  pure 
atmosphere  of  a  pious  mother's  influence.  He  enjoyed 
the  very  best  advantages  of  education.     He  studied 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHINCi.  I3I 

eloquence  in  the  school  of  the  man  whom  Gibbon 
calls  "the  last  glory  of  expiring-  paganism,"  and  in 
that  school  carried  off  the  pahn  without  a  competi- 
tor. During  his  short  practice  of  law,  he  would  learn 
much  of  human  nature  and  human  depravity.  Four 
years  he  was  in  a  cloister,  and  spent  his  time  in 
studying  the  Bible.  Two  years  he  was  in  solitude  on 
the  mountains,  and  spent  his  time  in  the  same  way. 
Six  years  more  he  devotes  to  hard  study  at  Antioch. 
At  forty  he  preaches  his  first  sermon.  Xo  hasty 
preparation  here  ;  no  hurrying  from  Jericho  before 
the  beard  had  grown.  Antioch  is  soon  full  of  the 
fame  of  the  young  preacher.  For  twelve  years  he 
labors  faithfully  in  his  first  charge,  and  is  then  called 
to  Constantinople,  where  his  eloquence  drew  to  his 
pulpit  ten  thousand  hearers. 

His  mind  was  vigorous,  comprehensive,  fertile,  and 
well  disciplined.  His  imagination  was  brilliant  and 
his  heart  full  of  fervor  and  tenderness.  His  exalted 
nobleness  exposed  him  sometimes  to  the  charge  of 
pride.  His  command  of  language  was  wonderful. 
"The  common  people  heard  him  gladly."  He  was 
eminently  a  popular  preacher.  Instead  of  allegorizing, 
refining,  philosophizing,  and  elaborating  subtleties, 
he  wrung  from  the  text  its  true  spiritual  import,  and 
gave  it  to  his  congregation  in  its  purity.  He  had 
great  versatility.  Every  species  of  eloquence  almost 
can  be  found  in  one  of  his  sermons.  His  delivery 
was  earnest  and  impetuous.  He  spake  with  great 
ease,  grace,  and  naturalness.  His  declamation  must 
have  been  magnificent.  Even  when  speaking  from 
memorized  manuscript  he  worked  loosely  enough  in 
the   traces    to    take    advantage    of    any   extempore 


132  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

thought.  If  the  attention  of  his  congregation  was 
diverted  by  the  sexton's  lighting  the  lamps,  or  by  any 
noise  in  the  streets,  a  paragraph  of  the  sermon  would 
be  devoted  to  it.  He  used  material  wherever  he 
found  it,  and  used  it  well.  On  his  way  to  church  he 
sees  a  number  of  sufferers  in  the  street,  and  that 
morning  preaches  an  extemporaneous  sermon  on 
charity. 

Eutropius,  the  prime  minister  of  Arcadius,  was  an 
unscrupulous  villain.  From  his  persecutions,  persons 
often  fled  for  asylum  to  Chrysostom's  church,  and 
the  pastor  always  bravely  refused  to  deliver  them  up. 
Eutropius,  therefore,  had  the  right  of  asylum  abolished. 
Times  changed.  The  first  man  who  fled  to  that  altar 
after  the  law  was  enacted  was  Eutropius  himself. 
Chrysostom  comes  into  church  on  Sabbath  morning 
and  finds  h'im  lying  at  the  altar,  when  he  delivers  a 
thrilling  extempore  address  on  the  vanity  of  the 
world.  "  Vanity  of  vanities,"  he  exclaims,  as  he  sees 
the  crestfallen  tyrant.  He  calls  the  roll  of  departed 
honors,  pomps,  luxuries,  offices,  and  hopes,  and  lets  a 
melancholy  echo  answer  the  call  ;  then  turning  to  the 
humbled  courtier,  reminded  him  of  the  faithful  warn- 
ings he  had  given  him.  He  lashed  the  sins  of  the 
city  without  mercy.  He  had  not  to  go  to  Sodom, 
Gomorrah,  Nineveh,  Tyre,  or  Sidon,  for  themes.  He 
found  enough  to  talk  about  at  home — in  Antioch  and 
Constantinople,  A  corrupt  court  smarted  beneath 
his  scourge.  He  called  the  queen  a  Jezebel  and  a 
Herodias.  His  invectives  against  royal  iniquity 
remind  us  of  John  Knox.  But  even  this  golden- 
mouthed  prince  of  preachers  sometimes  so  far  forgot 
himself  as  to  play  upon  words,  and  once  indulged  a 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  133 

desire  lo  be  singular  so  far  as  to  write  three  sermons 
on  the  text,  "Salute  Aquila  and  Priscilla." 

From  the  time  of  Augustine,  the  tone  of  the  pulpit 
steadily  deteriorated,  until  at  last  it  became  the  merest 
jargon.  Religion  gradually  left  the  heart  and  en- 
throned itself  in  the  intellect,  the  imagination,  and  the 
senses,  and  as  the  result,  we  have  scholasticism,  mysti- 
cism, monasticism,  ritualism,  celibacy,  and  supersti- 
tion. There  were  other  enemies  of  literary  and  re- 
ligious life  at  work  in  those  days  besides  the  barbarian 
hordes  that  overthrew  the  Western  Empire.  The 
Asiatics  are  constitutionally  dreamy  and  contempla- 
tive. This  is  as  characteristic  of  them  as  thought  and 
action  are  of  Europeans.  Plato  is  more  Asiatic  than 
any  of  the  Greeks  ;  consequently  he  was  the  favorite 
of  the  Mystics.  Beneath  the  combined  influence  of 
this  temperament  and  philosophy,  the  active,  vigor- 
ous, living  Christianity  of  the  first  century  degener- 
ated into  a  mopish  sentimentality.  The  fancy 
usurped  the  place  of  conscience.  Religion  consisted 
in  a  passive,  listless,  dreamy  semi-consciousness,  an 
introversion  of  the  thoughts,  an  abstraction  from 
everything  objective  or  practical,  until  the  man  became 
a  spiritual  and  an  intellectual  chrysalis.  We  would 
expect  such  a  system  to  produce  every  species  of 
fanaticism  and  insanity,  but  would  go  elsewhere  for 
pulpit  eloquence. 

Monasticism  was  calculated  to  dwarf  the  intellect, 
narrow  the  mind,  freeze  the  affections,  and  render  the 
most  generous  outgoings  of  our  nature  stagnant.  It 
is  from  beginning  to  end  a  system  of  selfishness,  self- 
torture,  and  self-conceit.  The  benevolence  of  the 
anchorite  terminates  on  the  salvation  of  his  own  soul. 


134  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

He  is  either  unwilling  or  afraid  to  grapple  with  the 
actualities  of  real  well-doing.  The  system  is  calcu- 
lated to  make  misanthropes  and  lazy  slovens — almost 
anything,  indeed,  but  good  preachers. 

Prosperity  and  royal  favor,  moreover,  loaded  the 
Church  with  a  splendor  and  a  ceremonial  that  well- 
nigh  smothered  her  inner  life.  Architectural  taste 
and  display  were  considered  as  of  more  importance 
than  genuine  piety.  The  spiritual  was  sacrificed  to 
the  aesthetic. 

A  temporary  expediency,  too,  threw  down  the  bar- 
riers that  had  kept  the  unworthy  out  of  the  Church. 
Heathen  rites  and  snatches  of  heathen  mythology 
were  adopted  in  order  to  conciliate  the  pagans  and 
effect  a  compromise  between  the  two  systems,  so  that 
Christianity  came  to  be  little  more,  little  else,  indeed, 
than  a  baptized  paganism. 

As  with  the  Church,  so  with  the  pulpit.  When  the 
preacher's  office  came  to  be  attended  with  honor,  ease, 
affluence,  and  influence,  instead  of  persecution,  self- 
denial,  and  death,  there  was  a  rush  of  the  unworthy 
into  it.  Men  actuated  by  the  most  mercenary 
motives  sought  the  office  of  the  ministry.  Worldly- 
mindedness,  pride,  hypocrisy,  low  intrigue,  chicanery, 
selfishness,  sluggishness,  and  ignorance  distinguished 
the  clergy.  In  the  election  of  men  to  high  places  in 
the  Church,  spirituality  was  scarcely  a  consideration 
at  all.  Their  rhetorical  attainments,  their  political 
influence  and  financial  tact,  were  of  primary  impor- 
tance, while  piety  was  hardly  allowed  to  occupy  even 
a  secondary  place. 

Theological  learning,  as  well  as  learning  of  every 
kind,  steadily   declined.     Magical  effects,  that  were 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  135 

supposed  to  supersede  altogether  the  necessity  of 
education,  were  attributed  to  ordination. 

The  want  of  good  theological  seminaries  was  also 
greatly  felt.  At  first  there  was  but  one,  that  at 
Alexandria.  Others  were  afterward  established,  but 
they  were  not  adequate  to  the  demands  of  the  age. 
Among  the  Greeks,  candidates  for  the  ministry  went 
to  the  schools  of  rhetoric  which  then  flourished.  The 
learning  acquired  there,  although  entirely  secular 
and  artificial,  yet,  when  baptized  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
was  consecrated  to  good  ends,  as  in  the  case  of 
Chrysostom,  Basil  the  Great,  the  Gregories,  and 
others  ;  but  when  in  the  absence  of  spirituality,  a  man 
took  to  the  pulpit  nothing  but  the  rhetorical  precepts 
and  artificial  manner  and  tastes  of  these  schools,  he 
made  a  sorry  successor  of  the  apostles.  The  pulpit 
then  became  a  platform  from  which  an  orator 
exhibited  to  a  congregation  what  graceful  curves  he 
could  make  with  his  arms,  what  exquisite  attitudes 
he  could  assume,  and  how  completely  his  vocal  organs 
were  under  his  control.  In  godly  men  it  required 
grace  to  keep  them  from  being  intoxicated  by  the 
injudicious  demonstrations  of  approval  from  their 
audience.  What  must  have  been  the  state  of  the 
Church  when  the  pulpit  was  filled  with  men  who 
aimed  at  nothing  higher  than  to  elicit  a  round  of 
applause  or  incite  a  smile  b)^  some  low  witticism  ! 

Charlemagne  felt  the  necessity  of  an  able  min- 
istry, and  directed  his  efforts  accordingly,  but  for 
the  want  of  competent  teachers  little  was  accom- 
plished. As  few  of  the  clergy  had  the  intelli- 
gence to  compose  even  very  inferior  discourses, 
homiliaria   were   prepared  for  them — sermons  ready 


136  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

made  to  hand — so  that  they  might  have  something 
to  read  to  the  people. 

Without  descending  to  particulars,  some  idea  of  the 
pulpit  in  those  days  can  be  gathered  from  these 
generalities  that  have  been  given.  It  spoke  all  kinds 
of  languages,  until  at  last  it  emitted  nothing  but  a 
mummery  which  neither  preacher  nor  people  under- 
stood. Alms-giving,  asceticism,  celibacy,  flagellation, 
voluntary  beggary,  and  mystic  contemplation  took 
the  place  of  the  blood  of  Christ.  Men  preached 
pilgrimages,  purgatory,  the  martyrs,  Plato,  Aristotle, 
or  a  crusade — anything,  indeed,  but  Christ.  Those 
who  dared  to  speak  the  truth  were  silenced  by  perse- 
cution or  driven  into  exile.  But  we  emerge  into  the 
light  again. 

The  Reformation  was  a  revival  of  religion,  and 
consequently  a  revival  of  evangelical  preaching. 

As  early  as  the  sixth  century,  Gregory  the  Great 
found  it  necessary  to  urge  upon  the  clergy  the 
necessity  of  preaching  more  than  they  did  ;  and  long 
before  the  times  of  Luther  the  pulpits  had  become, 
as  Latimer  quaintly  remarks,  "  bells  without  clappers." 
Now  the  pulpit  rang  out  once  more  joyously  and 
distinctly  with  a  pure  Gospel,  and  the  churches 
became  vocal  with  the  earnest  utterance  of  God's 
truth.  Learning  lit  her  lamps  again.  The  Bible  was 
brought  out  from  cloisters,  its  lids  were  unclasped, 
and  as  it  was  opened  it  flung  from  its  leaves  a  heavenly 
fragrance  and  influence.  Instead  of  the  chatterings 
of  drowsy  monks,  or  the  wire-drawn  distinctions  of 
schoolmen,  the  people  heard  the  Gospel  in  its  purity. 
No  longer  compelled  to  listen  to  the  rude  deliverances 
of  illiterate  men  upon  the  necessity  of  pilgrimages, 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  137 

the  sovereign  virtues  of  relics  and  dead  men's  bones, 
or  the  primary  importance  of  self-inflicted  tortures, 
or  self-imposed  poverty,  or  insulated  anchoretism, 
they  heard  with  delight  of  the  doctrines  of  grace, 
Christ  crucified,  and  justification  by  faith. 

Great  crises  develop  great  men.  God  makes  emer- 
gencies, and  he  makes  the  men  to  meet  them.  All 
the  world  listens  with  respectful  attention  when,  in 
the  roll-call  of  the  mighty  dead,  the  names  of  Luther, 
Melanchthon,  Zwingli,  Calvin,  Beza,  Ridley,  Latimer, 
Cranmer,  and  Knox  are  pronounced.  These  men  all 
had  their  peculiarities  and  their  failings,  too,  but  they 
were  earnest  and  evangelical,  and  left  their  mark 
indelibly  upon  the  history  of  the  race, 

Luther  was  bold,  impetuous,  overwhelming. 
Cowardice  and  indecision  were  no  part  of  his  nature. 
When  he  fastened  his  theses  to  the  door  of  the  castle, 
he  drove  the  nails  to  the  head.  When  he  burnt  the 
Pope's  bull,  he  sent  it  into  the  fire  with  a  defiant 
fling.  When  he  hurled  his  inkstand  at  the  devil's 
head,  he  did  it  with  a  steady  and  resolute  aim.  In 
the  pulpit  we  recognize  the  same  Luther.  Melanch- 
thon, on  the  other  hand,  was  mild,  amiable,  conciliat- 
ing. Luther  was  the  storm,  Melanchthon  was  the 
"still,  small  voice";  and  the  latter  was  often  the 
more  effective  of  the  two.  Knox,  Calvin,  and  Beza 
have  been  thus  described  :  "  Knox  came  down  like  a 
thunder-storm,  Calvin  resembled  a  whole  day's  set 
rain,  Beza  was  a  shower  of  the  softest  dew." 

The  preaching  of  these  men  was  scriptural,  direct, 
cogent  ;  sometimes  uncouth  and  inelegant.  There 
were  sentences  and  passages  in  their  sermons  which 
would    offend    the '  delicate  and    fastidious  ears    of 


138  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

modern  critics  and  congregations,  but  those  sermons 
never  failed  to  exhibit  Christ  and  his  cross.  They 
never  treated  with  timidity  or  false  delicacy  the 
subjects  of  man's  apostasy,  total  depravity,  and  ex- 
posure to  eternal  wrath.  They  were  earnest  men 
engaged  in  a  serious  business,  and  they  had  no  time 
to  spend  in  toying  with  men's  fancies,  or  coquetting 
with  their  tastes.  Their  anecdotes  and  illustrations 
were  not  used  because  they  were  elegant  or  beautiful, 
but  because  they  served  a  purpose — not  as  mere  tinsel 
and  trapping,  but  as  solid  material. 

Uninspired  men  never  produced  more  wonderful  re- 
sults. Luther's  words  have  been  called  ''  half  battles." 
In  his  power  to  impress  the  popular  mind,  it  is  ques- 
tionable if  Latimer  was  ever  excelled.  He  did  it  in 
his  own  quaint,  droll  way,  to  be  sure,  but  he  did  it. 
The  ardent  soul  of  Knox  always  rose  superior  to  his 
frail  body  ;  and  he  infused  his  own  fire  into  his 
audience. 

Time  will  compel  me  to  pass  over,  in  very  great 
haste,  the  history  from  this  point  to  the  present. 

Since  the  Reformation,  the  pulpit  in  all  countries 
has  undergone  great  vicissitudes.  In  England  the 
simple,  effective  style  of  Latimer,  Cranmer,  and 
Jewell  was  soon  lost,  and  a  strained,  stilted  one  was 
substituted  in  its  stead,  with  which  the  people  had  no 
more  sympathy  than  if  it  had  been  in  the  Sanscrit 
dialect.  The  king  set  an  example  of  pedantry,  and 
the  nation,  like  a  great  sycophant,  obsequiously  fol- 
lowed. Sermons  came  to  be  little  else  than  a  display 
of  shallow  scholarship,  an  array  of  Greek  and  Latin 
quotations,  an  assemblage  of  bad  puns,  studied  antith- 
eses and  feeble  alliterations.     They  were  studiously 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  I39 

destitute  of  unction,  or  anything  that  savored  of  ear- 
nestness. The  preachers  would  have  been  scandalized 
by  the  insinuation  that  they  were  affected  by  the 
truths  which  they  professed  to  teach.  They  were 
immaculately  innocent  of  being  in  the  least  moved 
themselves,  or  of  attempting  in  the  least  to  move 
others. 

Then  came  the  Puritans,  who,  much  as  they  may 
be  scoffed  at  for  their  nasal  twang,  their  sanctimonious 
eccentricities,  and  long,  lumbering  sermons,  were 
nevertheless  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and  of  con- 
sequence mighty  in  the  pulpit,  and  have  done  a  work 
which  entitles  them  to  the  everlasting  gratitude  of 
Church  and  state. 

The  seventeenth  century  boasts  of  many  pulpit 
orators.  Barrow  was  the  first  sermon-writer  in  Eng. 
land,  and  the  second  mathematician  in  the  world — 
the  model  which  the  great  Chatham  copied,  and 
whose  sermons  he  had  by  heart.  Baxter,  when 
living,  was  admired  by  such  men  as  Barrow  and  Sir 
Matthew  Hale,  and  now  his  name  and  works  have 
been  embalmed  in  the  hearts  of  five  generations. 
Bunyan,  with  no  learning,  and  a  library  consisting  of 
the  Bible  and  the  Book  of  Martyrs,  became  one  of 
the  most  powerful  and  popular  preachers  that  ever 
lived,  and  produced  works  that  have  become  the  com- 
mon property  of  Christendom.  Literary  critics  are 
as  eager  now  to  do  justice  to  his  genius  and  his  Anglo- 
Saxon,  as  Christians  always  have  been  ready  to  honor 
his  piety,  spirituality,  and  experience.  We  can  barely 
mention  John  Howe,  Tillotson,  South,  Charnock, 
John  Owen,  and  Jeremy  Taylor.  Such  a  constellation 
would  shed  glory  upon  any  age, 


I40  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

These  men  were  not  immaculately  faultless,  nor  as 
a  body  are  they  so  superior  to  the  clergy  of  the 
present  as  to  make  us  discontented  with  our  lot. 
The  division  and  subdivision  of  sermons  they  some- 
times carried  to  a  ridiculous  extreme.  Even  Baxter 
occasionally  indulged  his  propensity  for  ingenious 
speculation  in  discussing  topics  that  belong  more  to 
scholastic  philosophy  than  to  Christianity.  Tiliotson 
was  by  no  means  deeply  evangelical.  Dr.  South 
rather  wickedly  exhibits  the  faults  in  the  style  of  his 
illustrious  contemporary,  Jeremy  Taylor. 

The  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  was  the  Golden  Age  of 
pulpit  eloquence  in  France.  In  proof  of  this  it  is 
only  necessary  to  say  that  this  was  the  age  of  Bos- 
suet,  Bourdaloue,  Massillon,  Saurin,  and  Fenelon. 
Technically  speaking,  these  names  suggest  all  the 
highest  excellence  ever  attained  in  the  art  of  sermon- 
izing. In  sacred  oratory,  Bossuet,  Bourdaloue,  and 
Massillon  have  a  pre-eminence  and  an  association 
akin  to  that  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero  in  classic 
eloquence.  In  spirituality,  faithfulness,  and  genuine 
earnestness  they  have  been  far  enough  surpassed  by 
men  to  whose  names  belongs  no  such  lustre  as  belongs 
to  theirs  ;  but  in  them  we  find  an  elaboration,  a  com- 
pleteness of  design,  and  an  exquisiteness  of  finish 
which  we  seek  in  vain  anywhere  else. 

The  echoes  of  the  great  and  good  men  of  the  last 
century  and  of  this  still  linger  among  our  altars,  and 
their  virtues  and  memories  are  sacredly  and  tenderly 
treasured  up  in  the  sanctuary  of  our  affections.  Is 
there  an  Irish  Protestant  heart  that  does  not  beat 
quicker  at  the  name  of  Kirwan  or  Carson  ?  To  men- 
tion Christmas  Evans,  or  John  Elias,  is  to  start  the 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHIXG.  I41 

tears  in  a  Welshman's  eyes.  Have  Scotchmen  for- 
gotten M'Crie, Chalmers,  or  Edward  Irving?  Do  not 
Vinet  and  Monod  live  in  the  affections  of  the  French  ? 
Have  English  arms  or  intellect  achieved  anything  in 
the  last  century  which  Great  Britain  could  not  better 
afford  to  lose  than  the  fame  of  Whitefield,  Robert 
Hall,  and  John  Foster  ?  An  American  feels  almost 
sinfully  proud  when  he  repeats  the  names  of  Edwards, 
Davies,  Grifiin,  and  Mason. 

Such  the  History  of  the  Pulpit  has  been.  Whether 
in  the  future  it  shall  grow  purer  and  stronger,  year 
after  year  ascending  to  a  still  higher  level,  from  which 
Christ  crucified  shall  be  more  fully  exhibited,  or 
whether  it  shall  again  become  corrupt  and  imbecile, 
a  blot  and  a  disgrace — God  knows. 

Shall  we  have  preachers  whose  hearts  are  all  aglow 
with  love  to  Christ  ?  The  Church  needs  them — the 
world  demands  them.  No  amount  of  natural  or 
acquired  ability  can  compensate  for  the  lack  of  fervent 
piety.  Intellectual  sermons  may  be  as  clear  and 
sparkling  as  icicles,  and  as  cold.  The  moonlight  is 
beautiful,  but  it  is  the  heat  of  the  sun  that  brings  the 
verdure  from  the  soil  and  ripens  the  fruit  in  its 
clusters.  The  truest  eloquence  earth  ever  heard  is 
the  unrestrained  utterance  of  a  heart  full  to  over- 
flowing of  love  to  God.  Evermore  give  us  that  elo- 
quence ! 

And  shall  we  have  preachers  mighty  in  the  Scrip- 
tures ?  There  was  an  intimate  connection  between 
the  eloquence  of  Apollos  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
Bible.  In  all  ages,  in  proportion  as  the  pulpit  has 
been  biblical,  it  has  been  powerful.  There  is  no 
danger  that  the  Bible  will  be  exhausted.     Its  subjects 


142  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

never  wear  out.  All  other  subjects  do.  Christ  cruci- 
fied is  a  theme  that  will  never  grow  old. 

And  we  want  men  who  shall  not  only  know  the 
truth,  but  who  shall  not  be  afraid  to  speak  it.  He 
who  preaches  any  doctrine  of  the  Bible  in  an  apolo- 
gizing, compromising  way,  is  a  coward.  Those 
doctrines,  when  faithfully  uttered,  never  fail  to  find  a 
response  in  the  hearts  and  experience  of  men.  Let 
the  Gospel  be  preached  just  as  it  is — and  woe  to  the 
man  who  trims  or  temporizes  for  the  sake  of  an 
ephemeral  popularity  ! 

Great  responsibilities,  therefore,  devolve  upon  our 
theological  seminaries.  They  must  necessarily  give 
tone  to  the  pulpit.  Most  of  all,  it  is  expected  and 
desired  of  them  that  they  send  out  from  their  halls  and 
lecture-rooms  a  re-enforcement  of  good  preachers — 
men  trained  more  for  active  service  than  for  abstract 
speculation  and  scholastic  theorizing — men  in  com- 
munion with  their  God,  and  in  sympathy  with  their 
fellow-men  ;  whose  ministrations  shall  not  be  cold, 
perfunctory  task-work,  but  the  earnest  utterances  of 
living  truths,  the  power  of  which  they  have  felt  upon 
their  own  hearts,  and  are  thus  enabled  to  speak  that 
"  which  they  do  know." 

Our  piety  and  our  patriotism  unite  inputting  up  the 
petition  that  in  our  land  the  pulpit  may  achieve  its 
proudest  triumphs — that  Anglo-Saxon  energy,  enter- 
prise, and  genius  may  have  their  highest  development 
in  the  American  preacher.  It  is  said  that "  men  go  to 
Scotland  to  learn  what  to  say,  and  to  England  to  learn 
how  to  say  it."  God  speed  the  day  when  they  shall 
come  to  the  United  States  to  learn  both  what  to  say 
and  how  to  say  it.     All  the  world  should  pray  God  to 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.  I43 

send  America  an  able  ministry,  for  all  the  world  has 
mighty  issues  at  stake  in  this  matter.  ''  Westward," 
long  since,  "the  star  of  empire  took  its  way,"  and  a 
tide  of  intelligence  and  true  greatness  came  along  with 
it.  That  tide  will  find  its  farthest  limit  on  our  shores, 
and  then  in  a  sublime  ebb  will  roll  back  till  it  has 
covered  all  the  East  with  millennial  glory,  and  the 
nations  shall  see  in  reality  what  Ezekiel  saw  in 
vision — the  waters  of  the  sanctuary  flowing  from  the 
Far  West,  and  flooding  the  earth  with  righteousness. 


V. 

OUR  COUNTRY   CALLS— A  WAR  SPEECH. 


V. 

OUR    COUNTRY    CALLS— A    WAR    SPEECH.* 

Fellow-Citizens  :  I  am  a  minister  of  the  Gospel. 
I  am  no  politician.  If  I  looked  upon  this  struggle  as 
a  mere  political  issue,  I  should  not  be  here  ;  but  I  con- 
sider it  as  high  above  mere  party  politics  as  the 
heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth.  My  allegiance  is 
first  to  my  God,  next  to  my  country. 

Is  this  issue  worth  all  that  it  is  costing  us  in  blood 
and  treasure  ?     I  solemnly  believe  it  is. 

In  the  balance  over  against  the  interests  at  stake, 
money  is  lighter  than  a  moth-eaten  feather.  Let  debt 
come.  Out  of  the  vital  energy  of  your  sinewy  arms, 
farmers  and  mechanics,  you  will  pay  it.  Let  every 
acre  in  our  farms,  and  every  stone  and  brick  in  our 
houses  be  mortgaged.  We  will  pay  the  debt,  or  we 
will  bear  it  without  a  murmur,  and  when  we  die  we 
will  roll  it  over  on  our  children,  who  will  be  worse 
than  craven  if  they  do  not  assume  it  cheerfully  and 
bear  it  bravely. 

To  estimate  this  issue  in  dollars  and  cents  would 
be  as  monstrous  as  it  would  be  to  barter  away  a 
mother's  love  for  husks  that  the  swine  do  eat,  or  as 
it  would  be  to  trade  and  traffic  in  the  affections  of  a 
wife  or  of  a  daughter.  Gold  is  trash,  silver  is  dirt, 
real  estate  is  dung,  when  once  thrown  into  the  scales 

*  At  a  Mass  Meeting  in  Allegheny,  July  24,  1862. 
147 


148  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

against  an  undivided  country,  an  unsullied  national 
honor,  an  unstained  and  an  untorn  national  flag. 

But  is  it  worth  the  blood,  the  tears,  the  agony,  the 
maimed  bodies,  the  broken  hearts  that  it  is  costing 
us? 

Yes  !  and  a  thousand  times  more  thrice  told. 
There  are  worse  things  than  death,  or  bloodshed,  or 
war.  Cowardice  is  worse.  Dishonor  is  infinitely 
worse.  Let  blood  flow  until  it  reaches  the  throat- 
latches  of  the  horses,  rather  than  have  one  Star 
plucked  from  the  galaxy  of  States — rather  than  have 
one  inch  of  American  soil  alienated  from  the  Consti- 
tution which  our  fathers  gave  us. 

Let  no  man  "  lay  to  his  soul  the  flattering  unction," 
that  there  can  ever  be  two  peaceful  republics  on  this 
continent.  In  the  language  of  Holy  Writ,  "  Say  ye  not 
a  Confederacy."  We  had  better  fight  it  out  now  than 
have  incessant  and  interminable  war  hereafter.  Se- 
cession consummated  is  the  infernal  Pandora  Box 
from  which  will  issue  all  imaginable  and  monstrous 
political  evils  for  us  and  for  our  children,  and  for  the 
world.  Let  one  rod  of  American  soil  be  wrested  by 
force  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  and 
we  may  as  well  tear  our  flag  to  ribbons  and  sell  it  for 
rags.  We  may  as  well  take  the  parchment  on  which 
the  Constitution  is  written,  and  make  lighting-papers 
of  it.  That  proud  banner  would  then  no  longer  float 
on  every  sea  and  on  every  shore,  the  unchallenged 
emblem  of  republicanism  triumphant  ;  but  it  would 
be  jeered  at  by  every  despot  and  aristocrat  on  earth 
as  the  tattered,  despicable  symbol  of  the  utter  failure 
of  popular  government. 

The  hour  we  fail  in  this  struggle,  the  sun  goes  back 


OUR    COUNTRY    CALLS.  I49 

fifteen  degrees  on  the  dial.  Men  of  Pennsylvania  ! 
shall  it  be  so  ?  No  !  over  the  smoking  blood  of 
Rippey  and  of  Black,  swear  to-day  that  it  shall  never 
be  so  long  as  there  is  in  Allegheny  Co.  a  man  to 
ram  home  a  cartridge,  fix  a  bayonet,  or  pull  a  trigger. 

If  it  must  be  so,  let  this  land  be  deluged  with  blood. 
Out  of  that  red  and  clotted  ocean,  civil  liberty  will 
arise  regenerated  and  purified  and  resplendent  as 
Minerva  leaped  in  full  panoply  from  the  brain  of 
Jupiter. 

There  is  no  election  left  us  in  this  matter.  The 
bloody  issue  has  been  forced  upon  us,  and  we  must 
meet  it  manfully,  or  lie  down  like  whining  spaniels 
at  the  feet  of  a  treason-dyed  aristocracy.  Are  ye 
ready  for  that,  ye  sons  of  Benjamin  Franklin  ? 

We  call  Heaven  to  witness  that  the  loyal  people  of 
this  country  desired  not  blood.  To  a  man  they  were 
for  peace.  While  you  were  going  on  with  your  farm- 
ing, your  merchandise,  and  your  mechanic  arts,  per- 
jured traitors  were  secretly  plotting  the  destruction  of 
the  best  Government  on  earth.  The  conduct  was  so 
atrocious  that  you  would  not — you  could  not  believe 
it.  While  you  were  at  home  quietly  pursuing  your 
peaceful  callings,  these  iniquitous  men  were  rifling 
our  arsenals,  drilling  soldiers,  and  even  training  their 
guns  on  the  flag-staff  of  Sumter.  Still  you  could 
not  credit  the  atrocity. 

At  last  came  the  consummation  of  the  blackest 
villainy,  perfidy,  and  treason  in  the  records  of  all 
time.  Men  who  all  their  lives  had  been  dandled  and 
fondled  by  the  most  indulgent  Government  in  the 
world,  deliberately  shot  down  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
shouting  and  cheering  as  it  felk     The  heroic  Ander- 


150  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

son  and  his  gallant  band  left  the  hot  and  smothering 
walls  of  Sumter,  carrying  with  them  their  colors, 
riddled  with  rebel  shot.  Then  you  and  I,  and  all  of 
us,  started  from  our  sleep. 

Pennsylvanians  !  will  ye  ever  sleep  more  until  that 
outraged  flag  shall  float  again  on  Sumter,  and  over 
every  nook  and  corner  from  which  treason,  for  a  time, 
has  driven  it  ? 

The  leaders  of  the  rebellion  have,  of  late,  a  very 
pious  horror  of  bloodshed.  But  we  all  know  per- 
fectly well  that  there  was  scarcely  any  other  word  in 
their  vocabulary  but  blood  until  the  spirit  of  the 
North  awoke.  Their  horror  of  war  and  their  let-us- 
alone  policy  were  developed  simultaneously  by  the 
"  uprising  of  a  Great  People."  Mrs.  Jeff.  Davis  had 
engaged  a  cook  for  the  White  House.  Wigfall  was  to 
have  been  dashing  up  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia, 
on  his  prancing  charger,  last  June,  one  year  ago. 

Their  meekness  of  spirit  was  induced  by  the  de- 
termination and  the  sublime  battle  cry  of  the  united 
North  ;  and  if  ever  that  meekness  of  spirit  is  to 
return  to  them,  it  will  be  through  the  same  determi- 
nation and  the  same  battle  cry. 

In  the  sight  of  high  heaven  we  protest  that  the 
loyal  people  of  this  nation  are  not  responsible  for  this 
bloodshed.  Upon  the  heads  and  souls  of  the  rebels 
will  cling  with  damning  tenacity  every  drop  of  blood 
shed  in  this  struggle.  They  would  have  it  so,  and 
now  that  the  issue  is  fairly  made  let  us  not  shrink 
from  meeting  it.  We  must  meet  blood  with  blood — 
steel  with  steel. 

Never  did  a  Government  bear  so  much  from  im- 
pertinent   traitors   as   this   Government   bore.     The 


OUR    COUNTRY    CALLS.  151 

sword  of  retribution  slept  too  long,  but  now  that  it 
has  leaped  from  its  scabbard,  never  let  it  again  be 
sheathed  until  the  very  odor  of  treason  is  purged 
from  the  land. 

With  you,  fellow-citizens,  rests  the  settlement  of 
this  contest.  Let  the  people  rise  in  their  majesty 
and  will  it,  and  in  less  than  six  months  treason  will 
be  crushed  into  the  earth  so  deep  that  the  trumpet  of 
the  Last  Judgment  will  not  awaken  it. 

Oh,  that  we  could  feel  our  responsibility  !  Oh,  that 
we  could,  for  once,  get  to  the  top  of  our  high  privi- 
leges ! 

Never  have  such  responsibilities  been  rolled  upon  a 
nation  as  those  that  rest  upon  us  in  this  crisis  ;  and 
the  privilege  is  equal  to  the  responsibility.  But  one 
such  opportunity  has  occurred  in  the  history  of  the 
world  as  that  which  is  now  offered  to  us. 

To  you,  fellow-citizens,  are  committed  the  interests 
of  civil  liberty  and  the  destinies  of  popular  govern- 
ment throughout  the  world,  and  for  all  time.  Dare 
you  prove  recreant  to  the  high  trust  ?  It  may  be  that 
this  generation  is  to  be  made  a  vicarious  sacrifice 
for  posterity.  No  higher  honor  could  be  put  upon 
it.  Let  the  sacrifice  be  made.  The  eyes  of  the 
world  are  upon  us.  The  fate  of  unborn  millions  is 
involved  in  our  conduct.  Never  did  such  incentives 
spur  a  nation  to  action.  If  we  falter,  if  we  balk,  then 
henceforth  let  Ichabod — "  the  glory  is  departed  " — 
be  written  on  the  forehead  of  every  man-child  born 
in  the  North. 

There  is  no  use  in  disguising  the  fact  :  a  perilous, 
a  momentous  crisis  is  upon  us.  The  hour  is  big  with 
the  fate  of  the  Republic.     "  It  is  high  time  to  awake 


152  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

out  of  sleep."  The  rebels  are  in  awful  earnest. 
Their  leaders  are  fighting  with  halters  about  their 
necks,  and  of  course  they  will  fight  desperately. 
They  will  scruple  at  no  means.  The  life  of  a  mudsill 
is  nothing  to  them.  They  will  slaughter  their  men 
like  sheep  for  the  shambles.  Action,  prompt,  resist- 
less action,  is  the  demand  of  the  hour.  This  we  must 
have,  or  all  is  lost.  Let  no  man  lay  his  head  on  his 
pillow  to-night  until  his  name  is  on  the  roll  of  his 
country's  defenders,  or  until  he  has  rendered  to  his 
conscience  a  good  reason  why  his  name  should  not  be 
there.  Don't  wait  to  cure  your  hay  or  bind  your  oats. 
Your  country  is  more  to  you  than  meat,  and  that 
country  may  be  ruined  beyond  redemption  before 
your  harvest  is  gathered  into  your  barns. 

Men  of  the  North,  awake  !  arise  !  arouse  !  The 
reveille  of  liberty  is  beating  !  Up  !  up  !  and  to  arms  ! 
Rally  to  the  colors  ! 

Stay  not  for  questions  while  freedom  stands  gasping, 
Wait  not  till  honor  lies  wrapped  in  his  pall  ; 

Brief  the  lips'  parting  be,  swift  the  hands'  clasping, 
"  Off  for  the  wars,"  is  enough  for  them  all. 

The  issue  is  clearly,  sharply  defined.  We  must 
achieve  by  force  the  permanence  of  this  Government, 
or  go  to  our  graves  dishonored,  and  bequeath  to  our 
children  and  our  children's  children  a  heritage  of 
taunts  and  sneers.  We  must  accept  the  alternative. 
Alleghenians  !  what  say  you?  Shall  your  country 
cry  to  you  for  help,  and  cry  in  vain  ?  What  is  a  man's 
convenience,  what  a  man's  life,  in  a  contest  like  this.^ 

In  the  God  of  battles  trust ! 
Die  we  may,  and  die  we  must ; 
But  oh  !  where  can  dust  to  dust 


OUR    COUNTRY    CALLS.  153 

Be  consigned  so  well, 

As  where  Heaven  its  dews  shall  shed 

On  the  martyred  patriot's  bed  ? 

Fall  in  !  fall  in  !  ye  brave  Pennsylvanians  !  To 
the  rescue  of  the  old  flag  !  Liberty  on  her  bended 
knees  and  with  streaming  eyes  implores  your  aid. 
Take  a  solemn  vow  to-day  that  your  life  shall  be  at 
the  service  of  your  country  until  our  eagles  shall  again 
sweep  in  triumph  over  every  acre  of  American  soil. 
Never  had  brave  men  so  many  incentives  to  heroic 
deeds.  Treason  is  to  be  punished,  blood  is  to  be 
avenged,  wrongs  are  to  be  righted,  a  country  is  to  be 
saved.     Strike,  then  ! 

Strike  !  till  the  last  armed  foe  expires  ; 
Strike  !  for  your  altars  and  your  fires  ; 
Strike  !  for  the  green  graves  of  your  sires, 

God  and  your  native  land. 
Strike  !  for  tyrants  fall  in  every  foe  ; 
Strike  !  for  Liberty's  in  every  blow  ; 

Forward  !  let  us  do  or  die  ! 


VI. 

MINISTERIAL  CONSECRATION. 


VI. 

MINISTERIAL  CONSECRATION.* 

It  is  necessary  neither  to  prove  from  Scripture,  nor 
to  enforce  by  argument,  the  duty  of  Christian  or  min- 
isterial consecration.  It  seems  to  be  universally  con- 
ceded  that  this  consecration  is  to  be  so  entire  as  to 
comprehend  the  whole  man  in  the  completeness  and 
symmetry  of  his  being.  Yet  while  no  word  in  the 
Christian  vocabulary  is  more  readily  admitted  or 
more  orthodoxly  used,  there  is  no  thing  in  the  Chris- 
tian life  that  is  more  sadly  misapprehended  and  more 
grossly  misapplied.  Out  of  this  misapprehension 
have  grown  doctrines  and  practices  which,  for  ages, 
have  been  sapping  the  vigor  and  energies  of  the 
Church  of  Christ.  This  was  the  fountain-head  of 
asceticism  and  all  the  extravagances  and  fanaticisms 
which  have  flowed  from  it.  Under  the  conviction 
that  prayer  and  meditation  comprehended  the  whole 
duty  of  man,  thousands,  in  the  early  ages  of  the 
Church,  rushed  to  the  deserts,  dwelling  in  dens  and 
caves,  and  living  on  herbs  and  roots.  Zoroastrianism 
soon  tinged  the  theology  and  piety  of  the  Church 
with  its  peculiar  views  of  the  essential  evil  of  matter, 
and  hence,  in  order  to  promote  godliness  in  the  soul, 
ingenious  methods  of  torture  were  invented  for  the 
body. 

*  To  the  students  at  the  opening  of  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  September  15,  1868. 

157 


158  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  philosophy  of  the  wonder- 
ful, grotesque,  eccentric,  sad,  and  thrilling  history  of 
asceticism.  This,  with  all  its  concomitants  and  con- 
sequences, grew  out  of  a  partial  and  distorted  view 
of  Christian  consecration.  While  the  soul  was  con- 
secrated to  God,  the  body  was  devoted  to  dishonor 
and  abuse,  and  vile  neglect  and  extremest  mortifica- 
tion. In  reading  this  history,  the  conviction  is  forced 
upon  the  mind  that  these  ascetics  were  sincere  and 
almost  sublimely  earnest,  and  we  feel  the  kindlings 
of  a  certain  kind  of  admiration  for  them.  Simeon 
the  Stylite,  on  his  pillar,  was  a  hero  ;  a  very  con- 
tracted, distorted,  lop-sided  hero,  it  is  true,  but  a  hero 
nevertheless  and  notwithstanding. 

You,  gentlemen,  are  in  no  probable  danger  of  ascet- 
icism, but  you  are  in  danger  of  errors  which  spring 
from  the  same  partial  and  defective  one-sided  view  of 
Christian  consecration  from  which  sprang  the  ascet- 
icism of  the  early  centuries.  It  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance that  each  of  you  should  be  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  you  have  a  body,  and  that  the  Lord 
claims  for  his  service  your  entire  being  in  its  com- 
pleteness, symmetry,  harmony.  It  was  monstrous  to 
abuse  the  body  as  the  Stylites  and  Flagellants  did  ; 
but  to  be  indifferent  to  health  and  physical  develop- 
ment is  an  error  of  the  very  same  kind.  The  body  is 
the  only  organism  through  which  we  can  serve  God  ; 
and  there  is  no  antagonism  between  spiritual  health 
and  physical  health,  nor  any  sympathy  between  godli- 
ness and  indigestion.  No  degree  of  spirituality,  there- 
fore, can  absolve  a  man  from  his  duty  to  his  own 
flesh.  What  your  ministry  is  to  be  either  respecting 
your  own  comfort  in  it  or  respecting  its  power  upon 


MINISTERIAL    CONSECRATION.  I59 

Others,  will  depend  in  a  large  degree  upon  the  state 
of  your  stomach  and  nervous  system.  It  is  said  that 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  once  sat  to  be  examined  by 
Fowler.  The  phrenologist  laid  his  hands  on  the  sub- 
ject's head,  stepped  back,  and  exclaimed  :  "  What  a 
splendid  animal  !  "  It  was  no  disparagement  to  Mr. 
Beecher  to  say  that  he  is  a  splendid  animal.  The 
ministerial  invalid  corps — the  large  number  laid  utterly 
aside,  and  the  still  larger  number  who  are  crippled 
and  straitened  in  their  work  on  account  of  ill-health — 
furnish  lamentable  evidence  that  there  is  some  sad, 
radical  defect  in  our  system  of  theological  education 
and  in  the  style  of  our  clerical  living.  In  this  educa- 
tion and  in  this  style  of  life  there  is  little  or  no  atten- 
tion given  to  the  body.  If  it  can  stand  the  strain 
upon  it  without  suffering  from  acute  disease,  it  is  left 
to  the  inevitable  attack  of  the  whole  host  of  chronic 
complaints.  There  is  no  care  or  attempt  to  develop 
it  along  .with  the  mind. 

Gentlemen,  there  is  as  much  need  of  physical  con- 
secration as  there  is  of  spiritual  consecration.  The 
soul  and  the  body,  God  has  joined  together  ;  let  no 
man  put  them  asunder.  Let  no  one  flatter  himself 
that  he  is  doing  God  service  by  pushing  his  studies 
or  his  work  at  the  expense  of  the  brain.  Let  no  one 
presume  that  he  is  guiltless  in  jeoparding  or  injur- 
ing his  health  by  overeating,  oversleeping,  or  by  ir- 
regular or  slovenly  habits.  In  keeping  yourselves 
unspotted  from  the  world,  forget  not  to  keep  the 
pores  of  the  skin  open  ;  in  ruling  the  spirit,  forget 
not  to  control  the  appetite.  We  relieve  our  con- 
sciences  by  attributing  our  ailments  to  the  will  of 
Providence,  while  these  ailments  result  from  the  vio- 


l6o  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Ration  of  the  simplest  laws  of  hygiene.  The  seat  and 
cause  of  nine-tenths,  if  not  of  ninety-nine  hundredths, 
of  our  clerical  sore  throats,  are  to  be  sought  for  and 
found  in  the  stomach.  Speaking  injures  the  throat 
no  more  than  exercise  injures  the  muscles  of  the  arm. 
It  is  disuse,  or  misuse,  through  which  the  throat 
becomes  diseased.  If  the  vocal  organs  cannot  endure 
exercise  one  day  in  seven,  what  must  be  the  lot  of  the 
digestive  organs,  which  are  taxed  day  and  night  ! 
Rest  is  conceded  to  everything  but  the  stomach  ;  and 
men  treat  it  as  though  it  were  the  wickedest  thing  on 
earth,  and  deserved  no  rest.  What  wonder  if  it  rebels 
under  such  treatment,  and  in  retaliation  inflicts  the 
horrors  of  hypochondria  ! 

It  is  high  time  that  we  were  emancipated  from  the 
idea  that  a  clergyman  is  a  sort  of  semi-spiritual  being, 
and  that  he  is  subjected  to  a  set  of  arbitrary  laws 
from  which  other  mortals  are  free.  We  have  the 
clerical  gait,  the  clerical  tone,  the  clerical  suit,  and 
the  clerical  cravat.  According  to  this  code  clerical, 
there  are  special,  peculiar  proprieties  for  the  minister, 
which  he  dare  not  violate  even  for  the  sake  of  having 
his  torpid  lungs  filled  with  fresh  air,  and  his  languid 
blood  startled  from  its  sluggish  pace.  He  who  allows 
himself  to  be  cribbed  and  fettered  by  these  unright- 
eously imposed  laws  will  soon  be  as  destitute  of  life 
and  nature  as  a  bandaged  mummy.  With  his  cares, 
anxieties,  and  overpowering  responsibilities,  the  minis- 
ter above  all  men  needs  rousing,  exhilarating  exer- 
cises. He  demands  something  more  than  a  melan- 
choly  walk,  or  a  dull  turn  at  the  dainty  game  of 
croquet,  which  bears  to  the  manly  exercises  about  the 
relation  that  the  Latin  diminutive  bears  to  the  parent 


MINISTERIAL    CONSECRATION.  l6r 

noun.  Clerical  hands  are  not  too  holy  to  throw  th^ 
quoit,  or  wield  the  bat,  or  hold  the  fishing  rod,  or  level 
the  rifle.  Never  mope  and  stew  over  the  fire  and 
drug  yourselves  with  nostrums,  while  there  are  fish 
in  the  streams,  game  on  the  hills,  an  ax  at  the  wood- 
pile, or  a  horse  in  the  stable  which  can  carry  you  on 
a  gallop  through  the  eddying  snow  and  storm.  Such 
recreations  will  not  only  give  tone  to  your  system, 
but  tone  also  to  your  piet}^  and  vim  and  variety  to 
your  sermons.  Many  of  you  I  trust  will  find  your 
fields  of  labor  on  the  Western  frontiers  ;  yet  an  indis- 
pensable condition  of  success  in  such  a  field  is  the 
physical  capacity  to  endure  hardness.  The  founda- 
tions of  our  Western  Zion  were  laid  by  men  who  were 
not  addicted  to  kid  gloves  or  cologne  water,  tea  and 
toast,  mufflers  or  warming  pans.  Until  mid-life 
Macurdy  cracked  the  whip  over  a  six-horse  team. 
McMillan  had  the  body  of  a  giant  and  the  voice  of 
seven  trumpets,  while  Herron  more  than  once  quelled 
fights  on  Penn  Street  by  rushing  from  his  study  in 
his  gown  and  taking  the  astonished  combatants  one 
in  each  hand,  and  shaking  them  at  arm's  length,  and 
giving  them  a  lecture  at  the  same  time.  These  men 
were  not  quite  up  to  the  Oxford  standard  in  Greek 
accents  and  Latin  prosody,  but  they  were  thoroughly 
versed  in  tlie  profanities  of  muddy  roads  and  swollen 
streams. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  there  is  in  the  breast  of 
many  the  lurking  sentiment  that  it  is  not  quite  fitting 
that  a  student  should  have  rugged  health  ;  but  that 
there  is  some  necessary  connection  between  intellectu- 
ality and  ill  health,  that  it  is  vulgar  for  a  scholar  to 
eat  anything  stronger  than  toast  and  tea.     Remember 


l62  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS.  * 

the  mind  works  through  the  brain,  and  the  brain  of 
the  student  needs  material  nourishment  as  much  as 
the  right  arm  of  the  blacksmith.  We  want  a  scholar- 
ship higher  and  wider  and  profounder  than  we  have 
ever  had,  but  along  with  it  we  want  physical  force  to 
make  it  available. 

There  is  another  phase  of  the  subject  which  is  no 
less  pertinent  and  important.  Your  ministry  is  not 
only  to  be  in  the  body,  but  by  and  through  the  body. 
The  light  and  fervor  of  the  inner  man  must  be  com- 
municated through  the  instrumentality  of  the  outer 
man.  You  are  to  be  preachers.  Your  vocation  is  to 
speak  and  teach.  Vocal  culture,  then,  is  a  necessary 
part  of  your  education.  When  you  have  disciplined 
your  mind  and  stored  it  with  theological  lore,  your 
work  is  not  yet  done.  You  must  learn  to  communicate 
that  which  you  have.  A  communication  must  be 
established  between  your  heart  and  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  Puritanism,  in  the  violence  of  the  reaction 
against  ceremonialism,  went  to  the  opposite  extreme, 
and  fell  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  the  Word 
of  God  is  honored  by  an  unattractive  and  vicious 
delivery.  The  influence  of  this  error  has  been  felt 
even  down  to  our  own  day.  For  his  altar,  the  Lord 
requires  at  our  hands  the  very  best  we  have  to  offer. 
It  is  preposterous  that  a  minister,  under 'pretext  of 
reverence  for  the  Word  of  God,  should  convert  the 
sound  of  the  Gospel  trumpet  into  a  nasal  twang,  and 
pitch  the  great  and  precious  promises  to  a  dismal 
monotone,  and  in  reading  the  Scriptures  adopt  a 
style  of  elocution  which  in  inflection,  intonation,  or 
emphasis,  makes  not  a  shadow  of  distinction  between 
the  blessings  of  Gerizim  and  the  curses  of  Ebal.     Is 


MINISTERIAL    CONSECRATION.  163 

this  the  service  which  God  requires  at  our  hands? 
The  Lord  touched  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah,  and  sera- 
phim laid  a  live  coal  from  the  altar  on  the  lips  of 
Isaiah.  The  mouth  is  to  be  consecrated  to  this  serv- 
ice, as  well  as  the  mind  and  the  heart.  The  ground 
of  the  divine  election  of  Aaron  to  the  ministerial  office 
was  that  he  could  speak  well. 

Has  that  man,  then,  come  up  to  the  standard  of 
ministerial  consecration  who  has  paid  no  attention  to 
the  development  and  culture  of  the  vocal  powers,  and 
who,  for  want  of  this,  has  in  his  utterance  as  little 
flexibility  as  though  his  lips  were  made  of  pot-metal  ? 
Actors  give  to  this  subject  the  intensest  labor  and 
study,  but  young  preachers  rush  into  the  pulpit  with 
about  as  much  knowledge  of  speaking  as  was  pos- 
sessed by  Balaam's  ass,  and  for  their  presumption 
deserve  as  sound  cudgelling  as  that  venerable  beast 
received  at  the  hand  of  its  master.  Your  duty  in 
this  regard,  gentlemen,  will  not  be  discharged  without 
great  labor.  There  is  a  sentence  of  Quintilian  which 
I  commend  to  your  attention,  and  which  might  profit- 
ably be  used  by  you  as  a  motto  :  Multo  labore,  asst- 
duo  studio,  varia  exercttatiojie,  plurimis  experwientis^ 
altissima  prude Jitia,  prcEseiitissivio  consilio,  constat  ai's 
dicendi.  (In  much  labor,  assiduous  study,  varied 
exercise,  many  trials,  greatest  prudence,  and  readiest 
judgment,  consists  the  art  of  speaking.) 

The  true  orator,  the  man  who  is  instinct  with  the 
spirit  of  his  subject,  and  who  has  all  his  powers  well 
in  hand,  speaks  with  his  whole  person.  From  head 
to  foot  the  limbs  of  the  body  and  features  of  the  face 
become  the  live  exponents  of  the  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings  of   the  soul.     Those  of   you   who   have   heard 


164  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Gough,  know  how  he  can  convulse  or  subdue  an 
audience  without  articulating  a  syllable.  The  coun- 
tenance, the  limbs,  the  arms,  the  hand,  the  very  finger- 
tips, are  made  to  tell  the  whole  story.  By  the  iniqui- 
tous construction  of  pulpits,  two-thirds  of  the 
preacher's  person  are  hidden  from  view.  It  behooves 
him,  therefore,  to  turn  to  the  best  possible  account 
all  the  resources  of  the  remaining  third.  Imagine 
Demosthenes  making  the  Athenians  shout,  "  Let  us 
fight  Philip,"  by  speaking  to  them  from  within  a  hogs- 
head, or  even  from  a  modern  pulpit  !  Imagine 
Choate  swaying,  melting,  moulding  his  twelve  men, 
from  a  box  pinned  up  to  the  wall  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  ceiling !  By  his  surroundings  the 
preacher  is  put  at  a  great  disadvantage  ;  but  instead 
of  tamely  submitting  to  this  disadvantage,  he  should 
do  all  in  his  power  to  overcome  it.  The  Gospel  is  not 
preached  by  merely  forming  words  mechanically  and 
lazily,  with  no  other  sign  of  life  or  emotion,  and  with 
a  face  as  blank  as  a  dead  wall  and  as  expressionless  as 
a  piece  of  sole  leather.  It  is  no  wonder  that  such 
preaching  falls  short  of  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
Far  be  it  from  me  to  advocate  a  theatrical  style,  or 
anything,  indeed,  that  even  tends  to  degrade  the  ser- 
mon to  the  level  of  a  mere  performance  for  display 
and  elocutionary  effect  ;  but  I  do  insist  that  the  man 
who  has  consecrated  himself  to  the  ministry  should 
bring  to  that  work  every  force  and  element  of  his 
nature  which  can  be  made  available. 

The  two  chief  defects  of  education  are  super- 
ficiality and  narrowness.  The  riches  and  resources 
of  the  intellect  do  not  lie  on  the  surface.  They  are 
not  reached  by  skimming  ;  they  are  brought  out  only 


MINISTERIAL    CONSECRATION.  165 

by  thorough  cultivation.  The  mind  must  be  sub- 
soiled.  As  men  who  have  consecrated  yourselves  to 
a  holy  work,  it  is  your  solemn  duty  to  educe  and  dis- 
cipline every  power  of  the  intellect.  To  do  this  is  as 
sacred  a  duty  as  it  is  to  pray  or  to  preach.  It  is 
mockery  for  a  man,  under  pretense  of  spirituality,  to 
neglect  studies  and  exercises  which  conduce  to  the 
growth  and  discipline  of  the  mind.  It  is  making 
spirituality  a  cloak  for  laziness,  which  would  other- 
wise appear  in  its  stark  nakedness  and  ugliness. 
Piety  must  have  knowledge  to  sustain  it  and  thought 
to  nourish  it.  Without  these  it  will  evaporate  in 
sighs  ;  and  the  man  who  in  the  seminary  is  too  holy 
to  study,  will,  in  his  ministry,  have  nothing  better  to 
offer  than  vapid  commonplaces.  The  Levitical  offer- 
ing had  to  be  without  blemish.  Nothing  that  was 
maimed,  or  scurvy,  or  scabbed,  or  having  on  it  so 
much  as  a  wen,  could  come  upon  the  Lord's  altar. 
Take  care,  gentlemen,  that  you,  through  indolence  and 
negligence,  do  not  bring  to  God's  altar  minds  dwarfed, 
and  maimed,  and  scurvy  through  inaction. 

Not  only  is  education  superficial,  but  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  intellect  large  tracts  of  it  are  left 
untouched.  It  is  astonishing  how  small  a  fraction  of 
their  powers  even  educated  men  call  into  active  serv- 
ice, and  in  case  of  the  ministry  this  is  not  only 
astonishing,  but  lamentable  and  blameworthy.  The 
extreme  reaction  of  Puritanism,  to  which  I  have  before 
referred,  has  made  itself  felt  at  this  point  of  the 
Church's  life  also,  by  discountenancing  all  the  amen- 
ities of  style,  and  acting  upon  the  theory  that  only  a 
part  of  the  powers  of  the  mind,  and  they  of  the  baldest 
and  driest,  are  to  be  brought  to  the  service  of  the 


l66  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

sanctuary.  Shall  the  understanding  be  consecrated  to 
God,  while  the  imagination,  with  its  wondrous  powers 
and  possibilities  of  good,  is  subjected  to  a  proscrip- 
tion as  relentless  as  that  enforced  by  the  Stylite 
against  his  body  ?  Rather  let  the  understanding, 
imagination,  and  sensibilities  all  be  cultivated  to  the 
highest  pitch,  and  let  the  whole  soul,  thus  symmet- 
rically developed  and  all  aglow  with  its  harmonious 
action,  be  laid  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  What  right  has 
any  of  you  to  keep  back  from  the  service  of  your 
Master  any  faculty  with  which  he  has  endowed  you  ? 
Let  your  education,  then,  be  not  only  thorough,  but 
let  it  comprehend  your  manhood  in  its  integrity  and 
completeness.  Let  all  your  powers  be  kept  in  con- 
stant training,  ready  for  efficient  service  at  a  moment's 
warning.     The  Lord  has  need  of  them  all. 

After  the  mind  has  been  properly  educated  and 
disciplined,  it  must  be  kept  in  condition,  and  con- 
stantly improved  by  a  liberal  course  of  study  and 
reading  and  observation. 

All  study  is  useful.  Any  mental  exercise  which 
gives  tone  and  snap  and  litheness  to  the  mind,  is 
beneficial,  and  is  to  be  pursued  as  bearing  directly 
or  indirectly  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry.  The 
volume  of  the  Word  is  to  be  illustrated  by  the  volume 
of  nature.  Thus  taught  the  great  Teacher.  Let 
science,  philosophy,  and  art  bring  their  treasures  to 
adorn  the  Cross.  Let  not  the  pulpit  be  converted 
into  a  lyceum,  with  Christ  dimly  in  the  background  ; 
yet  let  the  whole  domain  of  thought  be  laid  under 
tribute  for  the  Gospel's  sake.  Let  the  heart  be  under 
the  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  and  all  things  will  be  seen 
in  the  light  of  the  Cross,  and  science   and  art   will 


MINISTERIAL    CONSECRATION.  167 

proffer  their  willing  ministries  to  the  service  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Put  Christ  in  the  triumphal 
car,  and  let  all  science  and  knowledge  take  their 
place  in  his  train  to  aid  m  swelling  his  triumph  ;  and 
do  not,  as  the  manner  of  some  is,  lead  Jesus  bound 
behind  some  inflated  theory  or  favorite  hobby.  With 
your  every  faculty  awake  and  active,  gather  all  the 
resources  within  your  reach,  and  put  them  all  into 
the  service  of  the  truth.  Take  the  spoils  of  Egypt 
for  the  tabernacle.  Strive  to  make  your  ministry  rich 
in  thought  and  observation  and  the  garnered  wisdom 
of  the  ages.  The  preacher  should  be  wise,  that  he  may 
teach  the  people  knowledge.  The  dignity  and  worth 
of  your  ministry  will  not  depend  upon  the  place  where, 
or  the  circumstances  in  which,  it  is  exercised  ;  but  upon 
the  spirit  that  shall  pervade  it,  and  upon  the  labor, 
thought,  learning,  and  experience  you  shall  put  into  it. 

Brethren,  have  I  made  myself  understood  ?  What 
I  wish  to  say  is  this  :  as  consecrated  men  you  have  no 
right  to  keep  out  of  your  work  any  part  of  your 
nature,  or  to  subtract  any  particle  of  that  which  goes 
to  make  up  human  force  ;  that  you  are  to  carry  into 
the  cause  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body.  If 
this  standard  be  reached,  you  will  never  complain  of 
the  hardships  of  your  calling. 

It  is  the  world's  standing  reproach  that  the  pulpit 
is  dry  and  uninteresting,  and  dwells  apart  from  the 
ordinary  thought  and  sympathy  of  humanity.  No 
longer  ago  than  last  week,  William  Lloyd  Garrison 
began  an  article  in  the  Indepe?ident,  with  these  sen- 
tences :  "  The  pulpit  is  proverbial  for  its  dulness. 
Ordinary  sermonizing  powerfully  tends  to  somnolency, 
closing  the  eyes  like  an  opiate."     Instead  of  efferves- 


l68  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

cing  with  righteous  indignation  at  such  reproaches, 
we  would  do  well  to  profit  by  whatever  of  truth  they 
may  contain.  If  the  pulpit  is  dull,  it  is  because  the 
occupants  of  it  do  not  put  into  it  the  whole  soul  and 
all  its  powers. 

The  high  themes  of  the  Gospel  can  be  so  presented 
that  the  popular  heart  will  thrill  at  the  utterance  of 
them.  There  is,  it  may  as  well  be  confessed,  a  grow- 
ing prejudice  against  doctrinal  preaching.  The  cry 
is  for  practical  sermons.  But  how  divorce  practice 
from  doctrine?  How  enforce  precepts  which  pertain 
to  godly  living  apart  from  the  doctrines  which  under- 
lie the  Christian  life?  The  ground  of  this  prejudice 
is  not  in  the  doctrines,  but  in  the  manner  of  present- 
ing them.  In  the  hands  of  Paul  they  were  not  dead 
abstractions,  but  quick  and  powerful.  And  put  them, 
now,  in  the  hands  of  a  living,  earnest  man,  a  man  who 
has  convictions,  and  they  are  still  quick  and  power- 
ful— it  may  be  Newman  in  St.  Mary's  ;  or  Spurgeon 
in  his  Tabernacle  ;  or  Lacordaire  in  Notre  Dame.  It 
is  not  a  question  between  written  or  unwritten  ser- 
mons— between  sermons  read  or  sermons  spoken — 
between  sermons  extempore  or  memoriter — sermons 
doctrinal  or  practical.  It  is  not  the  form,  but  the 
spirit,  that  is  vital  and  essential.  An  unwritten  ser- 
mon may  be  as  dry  as  mummied  dust,  while  a  manu- 
script may  be  as  fresh  and  fragrant  as  the  morning. 
The  Word  of  God  is  not  bound,  in  the  sense  that  it 
can  be  preached  in  only  one  way.  The  preacher 
should  be  master  of  all  styles,  ready  to  adapt  his 
address  to  all  audiences  and  to  ever  varying  circum- 
stances. He  should  be  able  to  write  as  elegantly  as 
Melville,  and  be,  at  the  same  time,  as  offhand    as 


MINISTERIAL    CONSECRATION.  169 

Spurgeon.  In  preaching  he  should  be  equally  at 
home  in  a  cathedral  or  a  coal-bank.  He  should  be 
able  to  preach  with  manuscript  or  without,  with  prep- 
aration or  without ;  by  following  a  premeditated 
train,  or  by  adopting  a  new  one,  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  which  will  be  adapted  to  the  immediate  oc- 
casion; he  should  be  so  full  of  the  digested  matter  of 
the  Gospel,  as  to  make  it  a  matter  of  indifference  with 
him  whether  he  preach  twice  or  twenty  times  a  week  ; 
he  should  be  so  apt  in  pat  and  telling  illustrations, 
that  he  can  carry  his  message  right  home  to  the 
hearts  of  the  people  who  are  at  the  moment  looking 
up  into  his  face  for  the  bread  of  life. 

This  is  not  an  ideal  standard,  impossible  of  realiza- 
tion. It  is  within  the  scope  of  practicability  ;  and  the 
Church  and  the  world  want  and  wait  for  such  men  ; 
but  those  dainty,  kid-gloved,  pomatumed  exquisites — 
who  put  the  "  balm  of  a  thousand  flowers  "  in  their 
sermons  as  well  as  upon  their  handkerchiefs  ;  who 
have  a  keen  eye  for  the  highest  temporal  good  ;  who 
rate  churches  according  to  their  material  resources  ; 
and  whose  first  question  is,  "  What's  the  salary?" — 
are  wanted  nowhere,  unless  it  should  be  in  a  millinery 
shop  to  sell  ribbons. 

Brethren,  a  glorious  work  lies  before  you.  Thank 
God  that  he  has  called  you  to  it,  and  that  he  is  about 
to  put  you  into  it.  ^'  Magnify  your  office."  "  Covet 
the  best  gifts."  Prefer  to  be  a  prince  among 
preachers  to  being  the  first  crowned  head  of  Europe. 
Be  men — earnest,  strong,  brave  men — healthy  in 
body,  mind,  and  heart — men  of  God — God's  men 
true  and  loyal  : 

Sworn  liegemen  of  the  cross  and  thorny  crown. 


VII. 

TWExNTY-FIFTH     ANNIVERSARY    OF     THE 

PASTORATE  OF  THE  REV.  DR. 

BROWNSON. 


VII. 


TWENTY-FIFTH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE 

PASTORATE  OF  THE  REV.  DR. 

BROWNSON.* 

Twenty-five  years  of  human  life   in  any  station 
and   in  any  circumstances  is  a  matter  of  momentous 
interest    and  importance.     Life  !     Human  life  !     Of 
what  hopes,   regrets,  defeats,  successes,  loves,  griefs, 
and    sympathies  the  wondrous  fabric   is  woven  !     A 
quarter-century  of  such   life  cannot  be  void  of   inter- 
est, though  it  be  spent  in  a  dungeon  or  in  an  Esqui- 
ma'ux's   hut  or    in   a  felon's  cell.     By  what   factors, 
then,  will  you  compute  the  results  of  a  quarter-century 
of    flithful    ministerial    labor?     Who   will    write   the 
history  of  the  work  done  in  twenty-five  years  by  an 
accredited    ambassador  of    Christ,   who   pleads   with 
men,  "  in   Christ's  stead,"  to  be  reconciled   to  God  ? 
Such  work  humbly  and  faithfully  done  anywhere  must 
tell  mightily  on  human  destinies,  and  must  project  its 
influences  forward   until   they  take   hold   on  eternal 
issues.     The  real  results  of  such  work   are  not  mani- 
fest.    The  breaking  up  of  the  fallow  ground  and  the 
sowing  of  the  seed  only  are  done  here.     The  harvest- 
ing  is  to  be  done  hereafter.     Now  we  look  abroad 
over  fields  newly  sown,  or,  at  most,  with  the  tender 
*In  the  First  Presbyterian    Church    of  Washington,   Pa.,  De- 
cember,  1873. 

173 


174  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

shoots  Struggling  up  through  the  clods.  But  oh  ! 
what  an  apocalypse  for  men  and  angels  the  harvest- 
home  will  be  when  all  the  sheaves  shall  be  gathered 
with  shoutings  and  rejoicings  ! 

In  any  computations  concerning  such  work,  we  are 
dealing  with  elements  which  are  invisible  and  intan- 
gible and  imponderable,  but  which  are  superlativel}^ 
potent  and  far-reaching  in  their  power.  The  minister 
of  God  wields  spiritual  weapons.  He  touches  springs 
which  in  their  action  and  reaction  are  mightier  than 
the  sweep  of  the  universe.  He  strikes  keys  which 
make  heaven  resonant  with  joy.  Twenty-five  years 
of  such  work  !  Who  will  write  it  up  ?  It  cannot  be 
put  into  figures  or  statistical  tables.  It  cannot  be 
written  in  annals,  expressed  in  eloquence,  or  sung  in 
poetry.  Written  history  is  but  the  anatomy  of  real 
history,  and  bears  to  it  the  same  relation  which  a 
wired  skeleton  bears  to  a  living  man.  When  God's 
books  shall  be  opened,  causes  as  well  as  effects  will 
be  seen,  and  then  "  they  that  be  wise  (teachers)  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever 
and  ever."  Could  we  see  the  hidden  springs  and  the 
occult  forces  which  lie  beneath  the  surface  of  things, 
we  might  be  able  to  write  a  history  in  some  degree 
worthy  of  such  a  work. 

The  history  of  this  ministry  is  greatly  enhanced  in 
interest,  and  the  power  of  it  is  greatly  intensified  by 
the  fact  that  it  has  been  exercised  for  all  these  years 
in  the  same  place.  It  is  a  rare  privilege  to  be  per- 
mitted by  Providence  to  preach  the  Gospel  for  twenty- 
five  years  to  one  church,  and  especially  when  that 
church  is  united,   harmonious,   fraternal,  and  cordial. 


REV.  DR.   BROWNSON.  I  75 

In  these  fretful,  feverish  times  of  ours,  long  pastorates 
are  alil^e  honorable  to  both  pastor  and  people.  The 
fact  itself  deserves  distinct  recognition  and  emphatic 
commendation.  But  it  also  carries  in  it  a  certifi- 
cate concerning  the  quality  of  ministerial  work  done 
here.  No  tlieological  wish-wash,  no  weak  rinsing 
of  the  wine-cask,  no  gilded,  decorated  cobs  and 
husks,  no  dishing  up  and  setting  forth  of  highly 
seasoned  hodge-podge  of  the  current  news  or  of 
sensational  themes  would  have  fed  and  nourished  and 
satisfied  such  a  people  as  this  for  these  twenty-five 
years.  Their  cultivated,  just,  discriminating  taste 
would  long  ago  have  turned  away  with  loathing  and 
disgust  from  all  vulgar  clap-trap  ;  from  all  theatrical 
display  or  rhetorical  tricks  ;  from  all  intellectual  gym- 
nastics or  pyrotechnics  ;  from  all  clownish  oddities 
and  eccentricities  and  idiosyncrasies. 

And  just  here  we  find  a  pertinent  and  suggestive 
lesson  for  both  churches  and  preachers.  The  lesson 
is  this  :  The  pastors  who  make  for  themselves  a  large 
and  warm  and  firm  place  in  the  hearts  of  their  people 
are  those  who  preach  simply  and  plainly  the  pure 
Gospel.  It  is  a  lesson  which  the  public  greatly 
needs  to  learn.  The  question  that  is  now  too  often 
asked  by  churches  seeking  a  pastor  is  not  "  Does  he 
preach  the  gospel,"  but  "  Will  he  draw  ?  "  The  iden- 
tical question  which  is  asked  concerning  a  third-rate 
actor  in  a  Bowery  theatre  !  Will  he  by  startling  utter- 
ances, made  in  disregard  or  in  utter  defiance  of  God's 
Word,  or  by  fantastic  tricks  of  voice  or  manner,  attract 
a  throng  of  gaping  curiosity-seekers  and  sensation- 
mongers  ?  An  affirmative  answer  to  such  questions 
is  generally  regarded  as  an  unqualified  recommenda- 


176  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

tion.  If  there  should  be,  perchance,  a  flaw  in  his 
moral  character,  so  much  the  better.  It  will  give 
Spice  and  piquancy  to  the  sensation  of  those  who 
go  to  the  house  of  God  as  the  Athenians  went  to  the 
market  place,  to  "  hear  something  new/' 

By  such  a  policy  churches  may  be  forced  into  an 
artificial  growth,  but  it  is  as  different  from  the  healthy, 
steady  growth  which  comes  from  the  preaching  of  the 
simple  old  Gospel  as  the  growth  of  Jonah's  gourd 
was  different  from  that  of  the  oak  of  Bashan,  or  as 
the  course  of  a  planet  is  different  from  the  whirr  and 
flare  and  explosion  and — extinction  of  a  sky-rocket. 

The  popular  opinion  is  that  the  influence  of  a 
minister,  after  a  certain  length  of  time,  wears  out  in  a 
church  and  community.  This  is  a  very  great  and  a 
very  grave  mistake.  The  influence  and  the  power  of 
a  pastor,  who  is  earnest  in  his  studies  and  faithful 
in  his  duties,  not  only  do  not  wear  out  or  diminish, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  increase  steadily  year  after 
year,  as  the  on-flowing  river  deepens  and  broadens 
and  gains  momentum.  Those  who  wear  out  or  run 
out  or  run  dry  are  like  the  Nile  in  its  lower  course, 
which  has  no  tributaries,  no  afliuents,  and  of  neces- 
sity diminishes  instead  of  increasing  as  it  advances — 
its  waters  being  drunk  up  by  the  sand,  and  there 
being  nothing  to  supply  the  waste.  Each  added  year 
should  make  a  pastorate  more  and  more  rich  in  all 
elements  of  usefulness  and  power.  The  possibility 
and  practicability  of  this  have  been  demonstrated  here. 

What  an  ineffable  privilege  it  is  to  be  permitted  to 
stand  in  one  place  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  one  people,  with  the  bonds  of  mutual 
confidence  and  esteem  growing  firmer  and  the  ties  of 


REV.   DR.   BROWNSON.  177 

sympathy  and  affection  growing  stronger  all  the  while  ; 
to  see  children  grow  up  under  the  moulding  influence 
of  an  unbroken  pastorate,  the  same  hand  which 
sealed  them  in  infancy  as  members  of  the  visible 
Church  leading  them  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  and 
distributing  to  them  the  elements  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per ;  and  the  same  lips  which  invoked  the  name  of 
the  Trinity  over  them  in  baptism  pronouncing  upon 
them  nuptial  benedictions  ;  to  watch  middle  life  soften 
into  age,  old  age  mellow  and  ripen  for  glory,  and 
childhood  and  youth  take  the  place  of  those  who  are 
passing  away  ;  to  mingle  with  and  to  share  the  joys 
and  sorrows  and  sympathies  of  the  same  people,  to 
bear  comfort  to  the  same  families  for  so  many  years 
and  through  so  many  vicissitudes,  and  to  be  the 
means  of  leading  to  Christ  souls  of  the  same  house- 
hold, even  to  the  third  generation  ! 

Not  only  is  the  length  of  this  pastorate  a  matter  of 
congratulation,  but  the  place,  the  time,  and  circum- 
stances of  it  could  scarcely  be  more  felicitous.  From 
what  other  spot  could  the  influence  of  a  pastor  radiate 
farther  or  along  more  important  lines  ?  With  a  col- 
lege on  the  one  hand  and  a  female  seminary  on  the 
other,  a  class  of  hearers  of  both  sexes  have  been 
brought  to  these  pews  who  are  more  interesting  and 
hopeful  than  any  others  who  come  within  the  compass 
of  a  preacher's  voice  or  within  the  sphere  of  a  pastor's 
influence.  If  you  would  see  the  fruits  of  this  ministry, 
you  must  look  far  beyond  the  limits  of  this  congrega- 
tion and  of  this  commonwealth.  You  must  go  far 
beyond  the  seas,  where  the  cross  of  Christ  is  being 
set  up  in  the  face  of  the  grim  and  mighty  systems  and 
superstitions  of  the  Orient  ;  you  must  search  far  and 


178  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

wide  in  hundreds  of  families  over  wliich  is  cast  the 
halo  of  a  saintly  woman's  influence  and  example  ;  you 
must  go  into  the  pulpit,  on  the  bench,  into  legislative 
halls,  into  seminaries,  colleges,  academies,  and 
schools  and  mission  stations  throughout  all  this  land. 
The  number  of  those  who  have  been  brought  to 
Christ  in  this  church  during  these  twenty-five  years, 
and  who  have  entered  the  ministry,  is  sufficient  to 
form  a  good-sized  presbytery,  or  even  a  small  synod. 
Such  a  record  as  this  will  surprise  no  one  who  knows 
anything  of  Dr.  Brownson's  lively  interest  in  students  ; 
his  genuine,  sturdy  sympathy  with  them  in  their  studies 
and  struggles,  and  how  his  labors  and  his  prayers 
have  been  bent  to  their  conversion.  In  him  the  stu- 
dent always  finds  a  true  friend  and  a  wise  counsellor, 
who  can  enter  into  his  feelings  and  sympathies  as 
though  he  himself  had  been  at  college  but  yesterday. 
He  has  read  and  criticised  many  crude  essays  and 
orations  ;  and,  while  his  criticisms  have  been  just,  and 
sometimes  severe,  they  were  always  made  in  such  a 
spirit  as  not  to  discourage,  but  to  stimulate  to  more 
earnest  effort.  If  the  spiritual  masonry  by  which 
the  Church  is  edified  could  be  revealed  to  the  bodily 
eye,  traces  of  his  hand  and  the  impress  of  his  spirit 
would  be  found  in  hundreds  of  pulpits  throughout  the 
land.  Thus  the  results  of  his  labors  have  not  been 
confined  to  this  congregation,  but  are  like  the  river  of 
Egypt,  which  overflows  its  banks,  filling  canals  and 
lakes,  and  carrying  fertility  and  verdure  far  and  near, 
*'  making  the  wilderness  and  solitary  places  glad,  and 
the  desert  to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose,  giving 
to  it  the  glory  of  Lebanon,  the  excellency  of  Carmel 
and  Sharon." 


REV.   DR.   BROWNSON.  179 

A  chief  and  a  crowning  glory  of  this  pastorate  is 
that  it  has  been  a  pastorate  of  revivals.     It  was  inau- 
gurated in  revival.     An  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
solemnized   and  consecrated   its   beginning,  and  fur- 
nished a  promise  and  a  pledge  that  the  Lord  would 
continue  to  be  with  pastor  and  people.     With  some 
of  us  those  initial  weeks  are  the  most  memorable  of 
all  the  weeks  of  these  twenty-five  years.     To  some  of 
us  the  "old  church"  is  invested  with  a  glory  which 
can  belong  to  no  other  building— a  glory  such  as,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Israelites,  belonged  to  the  Tabernacle, 
over  which  rested  the  fiery-cloudy  pillar.     That  was 
the  time  and  that  was  the  place  of  "  the  love  of  our 
espousals."     Then  were  displayed  the  presence  and 
the  power  of  God  as  really  as  when,  at  the  dedication 
of  the  temple,  "fire  came  down  from  heaven  and  con- 
sumed the  burnt  offerings  and  the  sacrifices  :  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  house."     The  strange  but 
mighty  influence  stole  over  the  town  and  the  college. 
There  was  an  unwonted  solemnity  and   awe  in  the 
rooms  of  the.  students,  along  the   halls,  and  in  the 
campus.     When  it  was  whispered  from  one  to  another 
that  such  and  such  a  one  had  remained   at  inquiry 
meeting,   an   electric  thrill   made  the  circuit  of   the 
whole  company  of  students.     None  could  resist  the 
power  of  the  influence.     The  most  giddily  thought- 
less and  the  most  desperately  reckless  were  subdued 
and  awed.     They  were  in  the  presence  of  a  mysteri- 
ous power  about  which  they  could  no  more  be  skepti- 
cal than  the  Israelite  could  be  skeptical  at  Sinai  when 
he  saw  the  ''  mountain  altogether  on  a  smoke  "  and 
wrapped  in  a  "  thick  cloud,"  and  when  he  heard  the 
thunderings  and  "the  voice  of  the  trumpet  exceeding 


l8o  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

loud."  Nothing  could  divert  the  mind  or  wrest  the 
thoughts  away  from  the  great  subject.  A  little  inci- 
dent may  serve  to  illustrate  this.  One  night  a  student 
who  lived  a  short  distance  in  the  country,  having  to 
wait  for  a  brother  who  remained  as  an  inquirer,  asked 
a  classmate  to  stay  and  keep  him  company.  The  two 
got  in  a  cellar  door-way  at  the  end  of  the  church  to 
shelter  themselves  from  the  cold  winds,  and  while 
keeping  up  a  vigorous  stamping  of  feet  to  stimulate 
the  circulation,  they  talked  of  studies  and  literary 
societies,  of  contest,  of  fun  and  frolic,  and  projected 
amusements — earnestly  striving  to  keep  up  their  spirits 
and  to  act  as  though  there  was  nothing  unusual  going 
on.  But  it  was  of  no  use.  All  attempts  broke  down. 
Finally  one  said  :  "  I  wish  I  was  in  there  with  my 
brother  Tom  to-night.  It  is  where  I  ought  to  be 
instead  of  shivering  here."  The  other  said  nothing, 
but  thought  much  and  felt  more.  The  boys  who 
stood  stamping  and  shivering  in  the  door-way  that 
night  are  both  in  the  ministry. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  a  pastorate  thus  inaugurated 
by  such  an  unction  from  on  high  should  be  prolonged 
and  blessed.  At  the  very  outset  the  prayer  of  God's 
people  was  answered  :  "  Arise,  O  Lord  God,  into 
thy  resting  place,  thou  and  the  ark  of  thy  strength." 
And  as  it  began  in  revival,  so  it  has  continued  to  be  a 
pastorate  of  revivals.  The  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire 
has  been  over  this  tabernacle.  Happy,  thrice  happy, 
the  pastor  who  has  thus  the  manifest  seal  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  upon  his  ministry  !  May  the  years  that  remain 
of  this  pastorate  be  a  continuous  Pentecost ! 

Not  by  any  means  the  least  significant  topic  sug- 
gested by  this  occasion  is  the  character  of  the  times 


REV.   DR.   BROWNSON.  l8l 

in  which  this  ministry  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  has 
been  exercised.  Within  that  time  thrones  have  been 
set  up  and  thrown  down  ;  science  has  put  a  girdle 
round  the  world  in  less  time  even  than  the  daring 
fancy  of  Shakespeare  demanded  ;  God's  step  has  been 
among  the  nations,  until  all  barriers  are  removed  and 
every  land  is  open  to  the  heralds  of  the  Gospel.  In 
the  fierce  strifes  and  conflicts  of  the  times,  and  in  the 
rapid  revolutions  of  opinions,  venerable  parties  and 
theories  and  policies  and  philosophies  have  crumbled 
as  a  potter's  vessel  that  has  been  smitten  by  a  sledge- 
hammer. "  The  foolish  things  of  this  world  " — in 
both  Church  and  state — have  "  confounded  the  wise," 
and  the  "weak  things  of  the  world  have  confounded 
the  things  which  were  mighty,  and  the  base  things  of 
the  world,  and  things  which  were  despised,  yea,  and 
things  which  were  not,  have  brought  to  nought  things 
that  were."  Frequently  during  these  years  we  have 
read  in  the  daily  newspapers  items  concerning  single 
events  which  contained  in  them  more  that  was  of 
supreme  interest  to  humanity,  and  which  portended 
more  of  weal  or  woe  for  the  future,  than  all  of  the 
events  which  have  been  embalmed  in  the  histories  of 
Herodotus  and  Thucydides.  So  rapid  and  radical 
have  been  the  changes,  so  swift  and  thorough  have 
been  the  revolutions,  that  we  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
be  living  in  the  same  world  in  which  we  lived  twenty- 
five  years  ago.  And  when  facts  and  issues  shall 
appear  in  their  true  light  and  at  their  proper  value,  it 
will  be  found  that  the  man  who,  amidst  these  tumult- 
uous years,  ever  watchful  of  the  great  interests  com- 
mitted to  him,  with  an  eye  to  "discern  the  signs  of 
the  times,"  brave  enough  to  speak  the  right  word  at 


l82  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  right  time,  unswayed  by  popular  tempests — smvis 
tranquillus  in  undis — with  a  true  heart  and  a  firm 
hand  has  stood  here,  at  his  post,  an  accepted  coun- 
sellor, teacher,  and  leader,  it  will  be  found  that  this 
man  has  wielded  a  sceptre  more  potent  for  good  than 
has  any  king  in  Europe. 

How  infinitely  grander  is  such  a  record  than  that 
of  an  Alexander,  or  a  Caesar,  or  a  Napoleon,  or  a 
Wellington  ! 

The  men  to  whom  the  gratitude  and  honors  of  the 
Church  are  due  are  those  who  patiently  cultivate  the 
field  into  which  the  Lord  has  put  them.  The  ministry 
of  some  men  is  as  unsettled  as  a  gypsy's  camp.  They 
are  perpetually  seeking  change,  and  as  intensely  covet 
the  fields  of  their  neighbors  as  Ahab  coveted  the  vine- 
yard of  Naboth  ;  and  like  him,  in  chagrin  and  dis- 
appointment, they  "  lie  down  upon  their  bed  and  turn 
away  their  face  and  eat  no  bread,"  instead  of  ''doing 
with  their  might  whatsoever  their  hands  find  to  do." 
Thus  energy  is  frittered  away,  enthusiasm  evaporates, 
and  life  is  wasted.  The  men  who  conquer  are  those 
who  ''fight  it  out  on  the  same  line." 

The  walls  of  the  spiritual  building  which  "groweth 
unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord  "  go  not  up  by  sound 
and  fury.  Quiet,  steady  forces  are,  in  all  spheres, 
the  mightiest  and  the  most  efficient.  During  the  con- 
struction of  a  great  bridge  in  Holland  one  of  the 
principal  traverses,  nearly  five  hundred  feet  in  length, 
was  placed  about  one  inch  too  far  on  the  piles.  No 
enginery  could  move  it.  In  the  morning  the  end  that 
was  too  far  advanced  was  securely  bolted  down. 
Then  by  expansion,  through  the  heat  of  the  sun,  the 
end   that  was  left  free  silently,   imperceptibly  crept 


REV.   DR.    15ROWNSON.  I  83 

along  the  piles.  In  the  evening  the  latter  end  was 
fastened,  and  the  contraction,  through  cold,  caused  a 
like  movement  of  the  opposite  extremity.  Twice 
repeated,  the  operation  brought  the  traverse  into  posi- 
tion. The  noiseless  warmth  of  the  sun  and  the  cool 
atmosphere  of  the  night  accomplished  that  which  deaf- 
ening machinery  could  not  accomplish.  Thus  the 
quiet,  steady,  and  often  unappreciated  labors  of 
a  long  pastorate  lift  up  and  carry  forward  great 
works  and  interests  of  immeasurable  preciousness, 
while  the  world  sees  and  hears  nothing.  Only  the 
opening  of  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life  will  reveal  the 
work  that  has  been  done  here  in  all  the  importance, 
results,  and  issues  of  it. 


VIII. 
HIGHER  LIFE  "—A  CHAPEL  TALK. 


-HIGHER  LIFE"— A  CHAPEL  TALK.* 

To  all  that  the  advocates  of  this  so-called  "  higher 
life  "  say  about  the  fulness  and  sufficiency  of  Christ 
we  most  cordially  agree.  In  this  there  is  surely 
nothing  new.  The  fact  is,  all  that  is  good  in  this 
theory  is  as  old  as  the  Gospel  itself,  while  all  that  is 
novel  is  erroneous.  What  is  true  in  it  you  can  hear 
on  any  Sabbath  from  any  evangelical  pulpit  in  the 
land.  The  fulness  and  sufficiency  of  Christ  we  be- 
lieve, preach,  and  rejoice  in.  We  also  believe  in  a 
higher  spiritual  life.  But  the  advocates  of  this  theory 
confound  justification  and  sanctification,  in  that  they 
make  them  both  acts;  whereas  sanctification  is  a  work 
— a  progressive,  a  life-long  work.  Now  in  opposition 
to  this  old,  sound,  and  scriptural  doctrine  we  have  the 
theory  set  forth  that  by  going  through  a  certain  for- 
mality of  making  and  signing  a  covenant,  or  by  some 
other  magical  art  or  operation,  there  is  brought  about 
this  sudden  transition  into  a  state  of  holiness  or  per- 
fection ;  for  if  you  get  down  to  strict  definition,  the 
doctrine  is  found  to  be  identical  with  the  old  doctrine 
of  perfectionism.  There  is  nothing  in  the  act  of  sit- 
ting down  and  writing  out  a  covenant  to  make  a  man 
holy.  The  men  who  trust  to  such  things  are  deceiv- 
ing themselves. 

*  November,  1878.     A  stenographic  report. 


l88  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

A  few  weeks  ago  a  man  came  into  my  study,  and 
he  had  not  been  there  five  minutes  until  he  volunteered 
the  statement  in  voluble  and  vainglorious  terms  that 
he  had  not  committed  a  sin  for  twenty-six  years — 
and  yet  he  was  a  book  agent.  He  asserted  with  great 
emphasis  that  he  was  perfectly  certain  that  he  had 
not,  in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  done  wrong  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Yet  that  man  had 
not  grace  enough  to  keep  his  face  clean.  He  wsissm- 
fully  dirty.  It  is  sheer  absolute  presumption  for  a 
man  to  say  that  he  is  certain  that  he  has  not  com- 
mitted sin.  What  does  such  a  man  know  of  the 
human  soul  with  its  faculties,  with  its  thoughts 
and  desires  darting  more  rapidly  than  electricity, 
with  its  passions  and  impulses  in  all  their  com- 
plex and  occult  workings  !  To  pronounce  dog- 
matically on  such  a  subject  is  presumption  at  least, 
if  not  blasphemy.  Our  highest  conception  of  the 
holiness,  the  spirituality,  the  scope,  and  comprehen- 
siveness of  the  divine  law  falls  infinitely  below  the 
truth.  And  beyond  the  line  where  we  suppose  that 
responsibility  ceases  there  is  still  a  world  of  ac- 
countability. 

Just  here  lies  the  secret  of  this  error.  It  arises 
from  a  lack  of  a  true  and  adequate  conception  of 
what  sin  is.  The  theory  does  not  exalt  holiness,  but 
it  drags  down  the  divine  law.  Each  man  makes  a 
divine  law  to  suit  himself.  The  law  is  cut  to  fit  the 
capacities  and  tastes  of  different  persons.  The  book 
agent  before  referred  to  admitted  that  he  had  bad 
dreams  ;  in  the  heat  of  the  discussion  he  became 
white  with  rage,  and  in  order  to  escape  dilemmas  in 
his  argument  he  lied  three  distinct  times  ;  yet  went 


"  HIGHER     LIFE."  189 

away  declaring  solemnly  that  he  had  not  sinned  for 
twenty-six  years,  and  that  during  that  time  he  had  not 
once  prayed  for  forgiveness.  Not  long  since  I  asked 
a  Presbyterian  minister — an  advocate  of  this  theory — 
what  he  would  say  to  a  man  who  made  such  assertions 
as  the  foregoing.  To  my  utter  surprise  he  did  not 
object  to  them,  but  said  that  it  was  necessary  to  define 
what  was  meant  by  "sin."  There  it  is  in  a  nut-shell. 
Why  define,  or  refine,  or  split  hairs  ?  We  are  not 
talking  about  words,  or  fancies,  or  definitions,  but 
about  things.  Under  these  definitions  and  distinctions 
are  hidden  things  which  they  call  infirmities — not  sins, 
but  "infirmities."  These  infirmities  need  tobe  repented 
of,  they  need  the  washing  of  the  blood  of  Jesus,  but 
it  will  not  do  to  call  them  suis.  Why  not  call  them  by 
their  right  name,  unless  it  be  to  foster  an  abominable 
vanity  !  I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  any  true 
Christianity  in  such  a  course.  I  do  not  believe  that 
there  is  any  true  Christian  experience  in  it.  By  the 
Spirit  of  God  we  are  led  to  see  the  glorious  sufifi- 
cienc}^  of  Christ.  In  the  same  way  we  are  led  to  dis- 
cover the  pollution  of  our  human  nature,  and  these 
discoveries  do  not  contract  our  views  of  the  sweep  of 
the  divine  law,  but  on  the  other  hand  greatly  heighten 
and  amplify  these  views.  This  is  Christian  experi- 
ence as  described  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  the  testi- 
mony in  regard  to  it  has  been  uniform  throughout  all 
ages  of  the  Church.  The  real  controversy  between 
us  is  not  so  much  about  holiness  as  it  is  about  sin.  If 
these  men  do  not  sin,  their  natures  must  be  perfectly 
holy,  for  "  who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an 
unclean  ?  "  P'rom  an  impure  fountain,  impure  streams 
will  flow. 


190  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

The  tendency  of  this  doctrhie  is  to  antinomianism. 
Suppose  one  man  covers  up  some  sin  under  the  name 
and  the  guise  of  an  infirmity.  Another  man  covers 
up  some  other  sin  under  the  same  name  and  guise. 
Thus  every  man  sets  up  his  own  standard,  and  the 
motive  is  not  to  honor  and  exalt  the  infinite  law  of 
God,  but  to  preserve  the  assumed  reputation  of  living 
without  sin.  Every  iniquity  may  be  committed  under 
such  a  system. 

Another  trick  is  to  evade  the  charge  of  sinning  by 
the  plea  of  unconsciousness.  They  do  not  sin  con- 
sciously. The  question  is  whether  we  sin  at  all  or 
not.  The  assumption  here  is  that  we  are  not  respon- 
sible for  unconscious  sins.  But  we  are  responsible 
for  the  formation  of  evil  habits,  and  through  these 
evil  habits  we  sin  unconsciously.  The  profane  swearer 
takes  the  name  of  God  in  vain  unconsciously.  "  If 
we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and 
the  truth  is  not  in  us." 

1  have  known  an  advocate  of  this  doctrine  to  per- 
mit a  promising  missionary  enterprise  to  languish 
under  his  pastorate  for  lack  of  consecrated  work.  I 
do  not  want  such  a  "  higher  life  "  for  any  of  you.  If 
this  is  a  "  higher  life,"  then  I  want  a  lower.  I  want  a 
life  low  enough  to  get  down  on  a  level  with  the  thresh- 
olds of  the  poor,  that  will  expend  itself  in  laboring 
for  the  conversion  of  sinners.  I  do  not  say  that  a 
lazy  man  cannot  be  saved,  but  I  do  say  that  a  man 
who  is  too  lazy  to  discharge  his  solemn  and  manifest 
duty  has  no  right  to  lay  claim  to  perfect  sanctifica- 
tion.  I  have  no  faith  in  any  Christian  experience 
which  detracts  from  the  spirituality,  depth,  breadth, 
length,  height,   scope,  reach,  and  comprehensiveness 


"  HIGHER     LIFE.  I9I 

of  the  divine  law.  I  believe  in  that  Christian  experi- 
ence which,  in  proportion  as  it  is  developed,  sees 
more  and  more  the  infinite  purity  and  holiness  of  the 
law,  and  which,  just  in  this  proportion,  discovers  de- 
filement, corruption,  and  utter  unworthiness  in  our- 
selves, and  which  thus  sinks  the  soul  in  the  dust  at 
the  foot  of  the  cross  to  give  all  honor  and  glory  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


IX. 

ADDRESS  TO  THE  GRADUATING  CLASS 
OF  1883. 


IX. 

ADDRESS  TO  THE  GRADUATING  CLASS 
OF  1883. 

Young  Gentlemen:    With   many  pleasant   mem- 
ories of  the  past,  with  a  profound  feeling  of  sadness 
at  the  present  parting,  and  with  most  earnest  prayers 
for  your  future  success  and  welfare,  we  now  sunder  the 
tie  which  has  united  us  so  closely  as   professors  and 
students.     Three    happy   years    have  glided    quickly 
past  as  day  after  day  we  pursued  together  our  inves- 
tigations in  the  boundless  fields  of  theological  inquiry. 
These  investigations,  in  their  place  and  measure,  were 
intended  to  fit  you  for  your  high  calling  ;  and  if  they 
have  at  all  served  their   purpose,  they  have  formed 
within  you  habits  of  thoughtful  study,  they  have  cre- 
ated within   you  a  quenchless    thirst  for  knowledge. 
The  truly  educated  mind  will    find  fields  for  endless 
research    everywhere.      If    there    be    no    opportunity 
for  quiet    study   in    a   cosey  library,  then   the  broad 
prairie,  the  mountain  path,  or  the  narrow,  busy  street 
will    become    a     library    teeming    with    lessons    and 
suggestions.     These    diplomas    are    not    to    be    con- 
sidered as  certificates  of  discharge  from  the  duty  of 
study,  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  should  be  interpreted 
as  your  written  orders  for  the  campaign,  which  mean* 
your  whole  life.      All  these  past  years  of  preparation 
were  intended  to  fit  you  for  systematic  and  effective 


196  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

intellectual  work,  and  if  you  are  to  do  that  work 
efficiently,  you  must  be  earnest  students.  You  can- 
not acquit  your  consciences  in  this  regard  by  con- 
cluding that  your  situation  is  so  unfavorable,  that' 
circumstances  are  so  unpropitious,  that  you  cannot 
study.  You  must  study.  Let  the  situation  be  favor- 
able or  unfavorable,  let  circumstances  be  propitious  or 
unpropitious,  you  must  study.  Circumstances  must 
be  made  to  bend  to  your  necessities  in  this  respect. 
Obstacles  must  be  converted  into  opportunities. 
Without  intellectual  and  spiritual  activity  and  growth 
you  will  become  drivellers  and  drones,  and  will  spend 
your  lives  in  threshing  old  straw.  There  is  no  incom- 
patibility between  the  most  profound  learning  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  most  direct  contact  with  the 
popular  mind  and  heart  on  the  other.  Learning  that 
educates  men  away  from  the  people  is  a  false  learning. 
It  is  shallow,  spurious,  and  undeserving  of  the  name. 
The  last,  the  highest,  and  the  ripest  result  of 
scholarship  is  the  faculty  of  simplifying  that  which  is 
abstruse,  of  expressing  profound  and  difficult  things 
in  the  plain  language  of  every-day  life.  Read  Hebrew 
and  Greek — indeed  I  charge  you  to  read  and  study 
these  languages  every  day,  and  Latin  too.  Read  if  you 
choose,  also,  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  and  Assyrian 
cuneiform  inscriptions,  but  when  you  preach  do  not 
display  the  processes  by  which  you  reach  results  ;  do 
not  parade  your  learning,  but  speak  to  the  people  in 
good,  honest  Anglo-Saxon — preach  the  Gospel  straight 
from  the  heart  ;  let  it  leap  from  the  tip  of  a  ready 
tongue.  The  great  steam  hammer  of  Nasmyth,  which 
crushed  rocks  and  ores  as  if  they  were  pipestems, 
could  nevertheless  be  worked  with  such  delicacy  that 


GRADUATING    CLASS    OF    1883.  I97 

it  would  break  an  egg-shell  in  a  wine-cup  without 
injuring  the  glass.  Strength  and  delicacy,  force  com- 
bined with  fineness — this,  young  gentlemen,  is  the 
ideal  which  you  should  set  before  you.  Be  as  strong 
as  lions,  as  swift  as  eagles,  and  as  gentle  as  doves. 

Vast  fields  open  before  you  at  home  and  abroad. 
By  the  blessing  of  God  you  may  mould  civili^tions, 
and  lay  the  foundations  of  empires.  In  whose  mouth 
the  Lord  puts  his  word,  him  "  He  sets  over  the  nations, 
and  over  the  kingdoms,  to  root  out,  and  to  pull  down, 
and  to  destroy,  and  to  throw  down,  to  build  and  to 
plant.  He  makes  him  a  defenced  city,  and  an  iron 
pillar,  and  brazen  walls  against  kings  and  against 
princes."  ''Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage."  He 
who  goes  to  his  work  timidly  invites  defeat  ;  indeed 
he  is  half  defeated  already.  You  have  the  truth  of 
God  to  preach,  you  have  the  commission  of  the 
Master  under  which  to  work  ;  and  the  promise  is  that 
"  He  will  be  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world." 


I. 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  MISSIONS. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  MISSIONS.* 

"  And  let  the  rvhole  earth  he  filled  ivith  his  glory.'" — PsALM 
Ixxii.  19. 

These  words  breathe  the  innermost  spirit  of  the 
Gospel.  In  whatever  form  this  spirit  expresses  itself, 
whether  in  prophecy,  in  type,  in  parable,  or  in  prayer, 
its  aspirations  and  its  utterances  embrace  the  whole 
world.  The  spirit  of  the  Gospel  is  the  spirit  of  mis- 
sions. Without  this,  Christianity  is  a  spurious  or  a 
dead  Christianity ;  without  this,  a  Church  is  not  a 
true  Church.  The  missionary  element  of  the  Gospel, 
therefore,  is  not  an  accident  or  an  adjunct,  but 
belongs  to  the  very  essence  and  soul  of  it. 

The  spirit  of  missions,  therefore^  is  a  badge  of  the 
true  Church  and  a  pledge  of  her  success  and  triunph. 

From  out  the  ruins  of  the  Fall,  prophecy  uplifts  her 
majestic  form;  with  a  glance  she  scans  the  vista  of 
the  coming  ages  and  proclaims  ultimate  and  complete 
victory  through  an  incarnate  Redeemer.  Thus  was 
struck  the  keynote  of  prophecy ;  and  the  resounding 
prophetic  harmonies  to  which  the  Church  has  marched 
through  the  ages  have  never  fallen  below  this  pitch. 

Abel  by  his  martyr-blood,  Enoch  by  his  walk  with 

*Moderator's  sermon  at  the  opening  session  of  the  87th  General 
Assembly,  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Cleveland,  O., 
May  20,  1 8 75. 


202  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

God  and  his  translation  to  heaven,  Noah  by  his  min- 
istry of  righteousness — these  bore  testimony  to  a 
faith  which  was  not  restricted  by  any  lines  of  race  or  of 
latitude.  The  blessing  of  Japhet  was  that  he  was  to 
be  "  enlarged  "  and  was  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem. 
Ungodliness,  rallying  its  forces  at  Babel,  attempted  to 
set  up  a  universal  empire  in  the  interest  of  atheistic 
humanitarianism  ;  but  He  that  ''  sitteth  in  the  heavens 
laughed"  at  the  impious  attempt  to  wrest  the  crown 
of  universal  dominion  from  Him  to  whom  only  it 
rightfully  belongs,  and  scattered  the  races  "  abroad 
from  thence  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth,"  to  be 
gathered  again  only  at  the  cross  of  Christ.  Babel 
stands  as  a  monument  to  all  generations  of  the  folly 
of  attempting  to  establish  a  universal  kingdom  save 
under  the  sceptre  of  the  Son  of  God.  In  its  deepest 
significance,  the  history  of  Babel  is  a  chapter  on 
missions. 

The  separatism  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant  and  of 
the  Mosaic  economy  did  not  contravene  this  oecu- 
menical spirit  of  the  Gospel,  but  was  in  the  fullest 
accord  and  sympathy  with  it.  The  lines  contracted 
for  a  time  in  order  that  with  a  wider  and  a  more 
assured  grasp  they  might  embrace  the  world.  All 
that  was  national  and  restricted  in  these  dispensations 
was  only  temporary,  and  had  for  its  purpose  the  edu- 
cation of  a  people  through  whom  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  religion  was  to  be  diffused  throughout  the 
earth.  The  fence  was  not  to  shut  the  world  out,  but 
to  keep  the  Church  in.  The  Abrahamic  promise  rose 
from  the  individual  to  the  nation,  and  from  the  chosen 
nation  to  ''all  the  families  of  the  earth."  The  dying 
Jacob,  with  prophetic  vision,  looking  past  the  waving 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    MISSIONS.  203 

sceptre  of  Judah,  saw  the  gathering  of  the  people  to 
Shiloh.  When  read  aright,  the  Abrahamic  covenant 
is  only  another  form  of  the  Apostolic  commission. 

The  distinctive  doctrine  of  the  Patriarchal  religion 
was  the  unity  of  God,  and  this  doctrine  carried  in 
itself  the  ground  and  the  pledge  of  a  reunion  of 
humanity.  By  her  belief  in  this  doctrine  the  Church, 
amidst  the  brick-kiln's  of  Egypt,  proclaimed  the  uni- 
versality of  her  mission.  On  her  march  from  bondage 
she  carried  in  the  same  doctrine  the  charter  of  her 
freedom  and  her  title-deed  to  the  Promised  Land. 
Even  in  the  desert,  by  her  testimony  to  the  truth,  she 
touched  by  her  influence  distant  nations,  as  the  fiery 
pillar  flung  its  light  far  into  the  surrounding  dark- 
ness. A  Church  which  has  in  its  creed  the  unity, 
omnipresence,  and  supremacy  of  God  can  accept  no 
field  which  contains  less  than  the  whole  race.  So  that 
the  creed  of  the  Patriarchal  and  the  Mosaic  Church 
made  it,  of  necessity,  a  missionary  Church. 

The  land  of  promise  was  at  the  centre  of  ancient 
civilizations — "  by  the  cross-roads  where  the  highways 
of  all  nations  met."  The  influence  of  the  covenant 
people,  therefore,  radiated  in  all  directions.  Their 
altar-fires  were  signal-lights  of  hope  to  a  perishing 
world.  Their  jubilee  trumpets  woke  seas  and  moun- 
tains and  deserts  to  the  echoes  of  salvation.  The 
converging  tribes,  on  their  march  to  keep  festival  at 
Jerusalem,  startled  nations  and  kingdoms  by  the 
swelling  choruses  of  their  hallelujahs.  The  ships  of 
Solomon  bore  the  name  of  Jehovah  to  India  on  the 
East  and  to  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  on  the  AVest. 
And  with  their  capital  and  temple  in  ruins  and  their 
land  laid  waste,  they  became  a  nation  of  missionaries 


204  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

in  foreign  countries.  Tlie  time  of  exile  was  the  mis- 
sionary age  of  the  Jewish  Church  and  nation.  Thor- 
oughly cured  of  idolatry,  chastened  and  spiritualized 
by  affliction,  although  without  temple  and  altar,  and 
with  her  harps  on  the  willows,  the  Church  became 
vigorously  and  valiantly  aggressive.  Her  Psalms 
were  sung  in  the  palaces  of  kings.  Cyrus  the  Great 
studied  prophecy,  and  under  the  impulse  of  that  study 
sent  the  exiles  home  with  their  holy  vessels  to  re-es- 
tablish the  worship  of  Jehovah  on  Mount  Zion.  The 
seeds  of  truth  were  scattered  as  on  the  wings  of  the 
wind  in  the  dispersion.  Alexander  the  Great,  in  his 
conquests,  carried  with  him  the  language  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint.  These  latter  days  of  Judaism  were  distin- 
guished for  vigorous,  aggressive  activity.  Syna- 
gogues were  planted  everywhere  ;  and  what  were  these 
but  mission  chapels  ?  The  unworthy  proselytism 
which  the  Saviour  denounced  was  only  a  distortion 
of  this  missionary  zeal.  It  is  deserving  of  special 
emphasis  that  while  national  glory  was  waning — 
while  crown  and  sceptre  were  passing  away,  the  truth 
which  had  been  committed  to  the  chosen  people  was 
widely  disseminated  among  the  nations.  In  this  way 
the  earth-shaking  tread  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  Cyrus, 
and  Alexander  the  Great  prepared  the  way  of  the 
Lord.  So  that  in  the  course  of  history  from  Eden  to 
Calvary,  there  never  was  an  hour  when  the  Church 
was  authorized  to  confine  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel 
within  circumscribed  limits.  The  people  of  Israel 
were  subjected  to  separistic  ordinances  only  in  order 
that  they  might  be  educated  in  spiritual  knowledge, 
and  thus  be  fitted  to  transmit  this  knowledge  to  others. 
It  was  the  aim  and  purpose  and  spirit  of  the  dispen- 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    MISSIONS.  205 

sation  to  prepare  a  nation,  each  member  of  which 
would  be  fitted  to  become  a  missionary  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. He  who  was  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews  became 
''the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles."  The  philosophy  of 
history,  therefore,  is  the  spirit  of  missions. 

The  spirit  of  prophecy,  moreover,  is  the  spirit  of 
missions.  The  vision  of  the  seers  was  fixed  upon  the 
form  of  the  Son  of  Man  towering  above  the  coming 
events  and  advancing  generations.  In  the  distance, 
cross  and  crown  and  kingdom  blend  ;  humiliation  and 
suffering  lead  to  conquest  and  universal  dominion, 
and  the  last  and  highest  note  of  prophecy  is  always  a 
note  of  triumph. 

In  the  very  beginning  of  his  sublime  prophecies,  the 
rapt  son  of  Amoz  saw  "  all  nations  flowing  unto  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord's  house."  Beyond  the  battle 
of  the  warrior  with  confused  noise  and  garments 
rolled  in  blood,  he  saw  arise  the  Prince  of  Peace,  ''  of 
the  increase  of  whose  government  there  shall  be  no 
end";  whose  administration  is  to  be  confined  to  no 
pent-up  limits,  but  w-ho  is  to  "bring  forth  judgment  to 
the  Gentiles,"  who  is  given  "  for  a  covenant  of  the 
people,"  a  "  light  of  the  Gentiles,"  who  is  to  ''  set  judg- 
ment in  the  earth,"  who  is  to  "sprinkle  many  nations," 
to  "  bring  forth  judgment  unto  victory,"  and  although 
bruised  and  put  sorely  to  grief,  he  is  to  "  see  of  the 
travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied."  He  is  to  "  divide 
the  spoil  with  the  strong,"  "  the  isles  are  to  wait  for 
his  law,"  and  "  all  flesh  shall  see  his  glory." 

By  an  eternal  decree  the  "  heathen  are  given  to  the 
Son  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth  for  his  possession."  The  wail  of  anguish 
in  the  22d  Psalm  passes  into  a  shout  of  triumph  in 


206  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

view  of  the  fact  that  "  All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall 
remember  and  turn  unto  the  Lord,  and  all  the  kin- 
dreds of  the  nations  shall  worship  before  him." 

Even  Balaam  heard  the  shout  of  a  king  among  the 
people  of  God,  and  saw  a  sceptre  rise  out  of  Israel 
which  was  to  be  swayed  over  the  nations.  The  royal 
son  of  David  depicts,  in  glowing  colors,  the  benefi- 
cence of  the  reign  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  ;  describes 
the  growth  of  his  kingdom  until  it  reaches  from  "  sea 
to  sea,"  and  "  from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the 
earth."  He  watches  the  handful  of  corn  in  the  earth 
on  the  top  of  the  mountain  until  the  "  fruit  thereof 
shakes  like  Lebanon."  He  sees  the  blessing  of 
Abraham  fulfilled  in  Christ,  and  hears  all  nations  call- 
ing  him  blessed.  Then  prophecy  passed  into  praise 
in  the  sublime  doxology  :  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God, 
the  God  of  Israel,  who  only  doeth  wondrous  things. 
And  blessed  be  his  glorious  name  forever;  and  let 
the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory.  Amen  and 
Amen." 

If  we  turn  to  the  prophecies  respecting  the  Church, 
we  shall  find  the  same  spirit  pervading  them.  The 
Bible  knows  nothing  of  a  Church  which  is  restricted 
to  any  limits  of  race  or  of  latitude.  The  vision  of 
the  seers  never  rested  until  it  touched  the  ends  of 
the  earth. 

When  the  "  Church  shall  rise  and  shine,"  the 
"Gentiles  shall  come  to  her  light  and  kings  to  the 
brightness  of  her  rising."  *'  The  abundance  of  the 
sea,"  "  the  forces  of  the  Gentiles,"  "  the  dromedaries 
of  Midian  and  Ephah,"  "  the  gold  and  incense  of 
Sheba,"  "  the  flocks  of  Kedar,"  "  the  ships  of  Tar- 
shish,"  "  the  glory  of  Lebanon,"  "  the  service  of  the 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    MISSIONS.  207 

sons  of  Strangers,"  and  "  the  ministry  of  kings"  shall 
be  devoted  to  her.  According  to  her  chartered  rights 
she  is  authorized  to  take  possession  of  the  earth  in 
the  name  of  her  Lord.  By  her  commission  she  is 
commanded  to  "go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature,"  and  when  by  faith  she  shall 
arise  to  the  level  of  her  duties  and  her  responsibilities, 
the  Lord  will  put  all  forces,  material,  financial,  and 
political,  at  her  service.  Commerce,  science  and  art, 
peoples  and  kings,  will  become  her  allies.  "The 
earth  will  help  the  woman," 

Two  objects  filled  the  vision  of  the  prophets  as  they 
looked  down  the  long  avenues  of  the  future.  These 
objects  were  the  coming  Messiah  and  the  Church 
redeemed  by  his  blood  ;  and  the  mission  of  .the  one 
and  the  progress  of  the  other  were  unrestricted  by 
any  limits  of  race,  latitude,  or  nationality.  Before 
the  cross  all  lines  are  obliterated.  The  blood-washed 
congregation  come  "out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation."  With  a  steady  gaze  and  an 
unwavering  purpose.  Prophecy  points  forward  to  a 
time  when  the  "  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ."  Whither 
Prophecy  points,  thither  should  the  Church  move  with 
unfaltering  faith  and  with  undeviating  step. 

The  types  of  Scripture  carry  in  them  the  same  sub- 
lime lesson.  A  type  is  an  embodied  prophecy  ;  and 
the  entire  system  of  typology  in  the  Old  Testament  is 
in  complete  harmony  and  sympathy  with  the  cove- 
nants, promises,  and  prophecies,  both  in  thought,  spirit, 
and  impulse,  and  gives  expression  to  them  moreover 
in  a  dramatic  form.  When  our  first  parents  were 
driven   out   of   Paradise,    the   Tree   of   Life  was   left 


208  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Standing  in  the  midst  of  the  garden.  It  was  kept  for 
man,  until  he  should  be  led  back  to  it  through  the 
righteousness  of  another.  The  cherubim  and  the 
flaming  sword  were  not  placed  at  the  east  of  the 
garden  to  terrify  man,  but  to  "  keep  the  way  of 
THE  Tree  of  Life."  The  flaming  sword  turned 
every  way,  so  that  when  the  time  came,  access  to  the 
tree  might  be  had  from  every  quarter.  Here,  then, 
was  an  embodied  promise  of  a  coming  salvation  and 
of  a  reunion  of  humanity.  The  Tree  of  Life  in  the 
midst  of  the  garden  expressed  in  type  that  which  the 
Protevangelium  expressed  in  words.  From  Eden, 
Prophecy  flings  her  bow  of  promise  until  it  spans  the 
whole  course  of  time  and  touches  again  the  "  Paradise 
of  God,  in  the  midst  of  which  is  the  Tree  of  Life,  to 
which  all  who  do  his  commandments  have  a  right." 
The  Tree  of  Life  was  thus  kept  for  no  one  race  or 
nation,  but  for  all  of  every  race  and  of  every  nation 
who  shall  accept  the  proffered  salvation. 

At  the  east  gate  of  Eden  cherubim  were  placed. 
We  find  them  also  in  the  tabernacle  and  in  the 
temple,  as  well  as  in  the  visions  of  Ezekiel  and  of 
John.  These  strange  figures  arrest  attention  and 
excite  enquiry  both  from  their  peculiar  form  and  by 
reason  of  the  positions  which  they  occupy  in  Revela- 
tion. The  cherubim  were  composite  figures,  com- 
bining in  themselves  the  four  highest  forms  of  animal 
life.  Typically  they  represent  glorified  humanity. 
By  their  position  in  Eden  they  showed  that  the  way 
to  the  Tree  of  Life  was  kept  open  for  the  return 
of  fallen  man.  By  their  position  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies  they  showed  that,  through  atoning  blood, 
humanity  is  raised  to  the  throne  of  God,  since  they 


THE    SPIRIT    OF-    MISSIONS.  209 

overshadowed  the  Mercy  Seat,  which  was  the  dwelling- 
place  of  Jehovah.  In  the  vision  of  Ezekiel  they  are 
also  in  connection  with  the  throne  of  God,  and  thus 
typify  the  exaltation  of  our  glorified  humanity.  In 
the  Apocalypse  they,  together  with  the  elders,  sing 
the  new  song,  saying  :  "  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the 
book,  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof  :  for  thou  wast 
slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out 
of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation. 
And  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests, 
and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth."  Then  the  angels 
to  the  number  of  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand 
and  thousands  of  thousands,  catch  up  the  mighty 
strain,  saying,  with  a  loud  voice  :  "  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
blessing."  Then  all  creation  joins  the  universal 
chorus,  saying  :  '•  Blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever."  That  which  was 
suggested  in  type  in  Eden  is  now  consummated  in 
heaven.  Grace  has  triumphed.  Glorified  humanity, 
with  indefinite  powers  and  possibilities,  comes  from 
"every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation." 
From  Genesis  to  Revelation — from  Eden  to  the  Para- 
dise of  God,  the  types  of  Scripture  point  along  the 
exact  line  of  the  covenants  and  of  prophecy,  and  find 
their  realization  in  a  Church  blood-washed  and  re- 
deemed out  of  every  nation  under  the  whole  heaven. 
Along  that  line  the  Church  must  move  or  be  derelict 
in  her  first  and  her  last  duty. 

The  Son  of  God,  in   whose   Person  and  life  were 
represented  all  the  spiritual  forces  of  previous  dispen- 


2IO  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

sations,  when  about  to  leave  the  earth — with  the  marks 
of  his  sacrificial  death  upon  him — gave  to  his  apostles 
the  supreme  law  of  the  Church  :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 
This  must  ever  be  the  norm  and  standard  of  duty  for 
the  Church  of  Christ.  By  disregarding  it,  the  Church 
forfeits  her  claim  to  the  perpetual  presence  of  her 
ascended  and  power-invested  Lord. 

Pentecost,  the  festival  of  first  fruits  and  the  memo- 
rial of  the  giving  of  the  Law,  had  its  typical  fulfilment 
in  the  inauguration  of  the  Covenant  of  Grace  and  in 
the  gathering  of  the  first-fruits  of  the  new  dispensa- 
tion. By  tempest  and  flame  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
manifested,  and  the  apostles  began  to  speak  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance,  so  that  "  men  out  of  every 
nation  under  heaven  heard  in  their  own  tongues  the 
wonderful  works  of  God."  Races  dispersed  at  Babel 
were  reunited  at  Pentecost.  The  import  of  the  cloven 
tongues  of  flame  was  that  the  Gospel  was  to  be 
preached  in  all  languages,  in  all  lands,  and  to  all 
nations.  No  one  tongue  was  to  have  a  monopoly  of 
the  good  news.  The  message  could  no  more  be  con- 
fined to  Palestine  than  a  peal  of  thunder  can  be  pent 
up  in  the  cloud  which  gives  it  birth. 

Pentecost  was  the  harvested  results  of  former  dis- 
pensations, as  well  as  the  inauguration  of  the  new 
dispensation  ;  and,  consequently,  comprehended  in 
itself  the  spiritual  forces  of  both  the  past  and  the 
present,  and  these  concentrated  forces  met  and 
blended  in  one  focal  thought  and  purpose — The 
Gospel  to  every  creature.  This  should  be  the  supreme 
thought  of  the  Church  from  which  nothing  must 
divert  her.     Just  before  his  ascension  the  Lord  said 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    MISSIONS.  211 

to  his  disciples  :  "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times 
or  the  seasons  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own 
power  ;  but  ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  come  upon  you  ;  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses 
unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in 
Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth." 
The  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  spirit  of  mis- 
sions are  synonymous.     The  language  of  the  Lord  just 
quoted  contains  the  charter  of  our  Boards  of  Home 
and   Foreign  Missions.     There  was  no  time  for  idle 
speculations,  while  Judea  and  Samaria  were  without 
the  Gospel.     The  manifest  and  imperative  duty  of  the 
Church  was  to  carry  the  Gospel  from  Jerusalem  to  the 
uttermost  part  of  the  earth.     Home  missions  were  not 
to  be  neglected,  nor  were  foreign  missions  to  be  for- 
gotten.    Through  Judea  and  Samaria  the  Church  was 
to  reach  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth.     The  same 
law  binds  us— binds  us  as  really  as  though  the  Lord  had 
uttered   those   words  to  us  directly.     We  have   our 
Jerusalem,  Judea,  and  Samaria,  and  through  these  we 
are  to  push  our  conquests  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
The  whole  work  of  the  Church  is  one  work.     No  two 
parts  of  it  antagonize.      This  work  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  has  committed   to  the  Church    in   an   awfully 
solemn    commission     and     stewardship.      How    can 
the  Church  answer  to  the  Lord  for  the   non-accom- 
plishment   of   the    work    which    has    been    assigned 
her? 

The  apostles  understood  the  import  of  their  com- 
mission and  went  forth  to  the  fulfilment  of  it  in  the 
spirit  of  their  Master  ;  one  to  Mesopotamia,  another 
to  Parthia  ;  one  to  Scythia,  another  to  India,  and  Paul 
"  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles."     Thev  took  the  commis- 


2  12  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

sion  and  translated  it  into  heroic  deeds  and  triumphant 
martyrdoms. 

The  spirit  of  missions  which  breathed  in  the 
promises,  which  lived  and  wrought  in  the  covenants, 
which  sustained  the  voice  of  prophecy,  which  shaped 
the  course  of  history,  which  inspired  the  prayers  of 
patriarchs,  prophets,  and  kings,  which  was  sung  in 
Psalms  and  dramatized  in  types,  became  at  last  incar- 
nate in  the  apostles.  From  the  Protevangelium  to 
the  Apocalypse,  the  idea  of  missions  pervades  every 
part  and  every  page  of  the  Bible.  It  is  the  fibre  of 
its  life,  the  blood  of  its  veins,  the  pulse-beat  of  its 
heart.  He,  therefore,  who  would  escape  responsi- 
bility in  this  matter  must  be  blind  to  all  the  events  of 
a  comprehensive  Providence  in  the  past,  deaf  to  all 
the  voices  of  prophecy  for  the  future,  dead  to  all  the 
appeals  of  duty  for  the  present  ;  he  must  tear  out  of 
the  Word  of  God  that  which  constitutes  the  very 
warp  and  woof  of  it  ;  he  must  repudiate  the  example 
of  apostles  and  martyrs  ;  he  must  deny  the  ''  Lord 
that  bought  him." 

Nor  has  there  been  anything  in  the  history  of  these 
eighteen  centuries  to  lift  this  responsibility  from  the 
heart  and  the  conscience  of  the  Church.  There  is 
not  a  single  reason,  motive,  or  impulse  which  actuated 
and  impelled  the  Apostle  Paul  which  should  not,  in  an 
equal  degree,  actuate  and  impel  us.  He,  indeed,  saw 
in  all  their  enormity  the  pollutions  and  atrocities  of 
Paganism.  He  saw  thrones  and  fortunes  built  on  the 
tears  and  blood  of  the  poor.  He  saw  the  family  in 
ruins,  woman  a  slave,  infancy  exposed  to  death,  and 
old  age  dishonored.  He  was  brought  in  contact  with 
religions  in  which  lust  and  murder  were  enjoined  as 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    MISSIONS.  213 

acts  of  worship.  On  every  hand  were  altars  which 
reeked  with  filth,  and  temples  which  flamed  with  the 
unchaste  creations  of  genius.  The  people  came  to 
the  shrine  and  the  priests  came  to  the  altar  with 
images  of  uncleanness  before  them  on  every  side. 
Children  grew  up  amidst  scenes  and  in  an  atmos- 
phere where  modesty  and  virtue  were  stifled  before 
years  of  discretion  were  reached.  A  lewd  mythology 
was  the  catechism  of  youth.  But  in  this  there  was  noth- 
ing peculiar.  Such  was  and  is  and  will  be  human  na- 
ture without  the  Gospel.  Paganism  improves  not  with 
age.  "The  world  by  wisdom  knows  not  God."  The 
awful  indictment  framed  against  the  heathen  world  in 
the  first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  still 
stands  in  force  in  every  count  and  specification  of 
it.  The  very  evils  which  the  Gospel  encountered  in 
the  Roman  empire,  it  encounters  in  heathendom  to- 
day. The  Gospel  at  first  restored  the  family,  lifted 
woman  to  her  true  dignity,  and  proclaimed  the  uni- 
versal brotherhood  of  man.  It  purified  and  conserved 
civilization  at  home,  and  laid  foundations  for  new 
institutions  and  new  civilizations  abroad.  The  Gos- 
pel has  the  same  spheres  in  which  to  operate  now, 
and  the  same  functions  to  perform  within  these 
spheres.  To  his  ancient  people  God  said  :  "Behold  I 
have  set  the  land  before  you  ;  go  in  and  possess  the 
land."  By  his  Word  and  by  the  commingling  voices  of 
his  Providence,  he  is  saying  with  emphasis  the  same 
thing  to  us.  To  no  other  nation,  in  all  time,  has  he  given 
such  a  heritage  as  he  has  given  to  us — a  land  whose 
territory  extends  "from  sea  to  sea,"  whose  "stones 
are  iron,"  and  whose  "  rocks  pour  out  rivers  of  oil." 
Along  with  this  wealth  of  heritage  come  correspond- 


214  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

ing  and  commensurate  responsibilities.  We  do  not 
have  a  perpetual  lease  of  our  liberties  and  privileges ; 
but  the  continuance  of  these  will  depend  upon  the 
manner  in  which  we  use  our  stewardship.  If  the 
purifying  and  conservative  influences  of  the  Gospel  do 
not  pervade  the  body  politic,  not  only  shall  we  perish, 
but  the  very  elements  of  our  strength  and  greatness 
will  become  the  swift  instruments  of  our  destruction. 
We  shall  fall  to  pieces  of  our  own  weight.  The  ballot- 
box  will  become  our  Pandora  Box.  Constitutions  and 
charters  will  become  so  much  waste  parchment,  and 
the  ghastly  skeleton  of  our  greatness  will  be  flung 
into  the  charnel-house  of  nations.  In  the  home  work 
of  the  Church,  therefore,  there  is  a  field  for  the  exer- 
cise of  the  purest  patriotism  and  the  profoundest 
statesmanship.  The  loftiest  eloquence  of  Senate 
chambers  cannot  save  nations  in  which  the  masses 
are  corrupt.  While  Cicero  was  thundering  in  Senate 
and  Forum,  Roman  liberty  was  expiring  in  the  grasp 
of  a  despot.  A  pure  Gospel  for  the  people  is  the 
only  hope  for  this  nation.  Without  this  the  republic 
will  not  complete  the  first  half  of  the  second  century 
of  its  existence.  If  this  overthrow  of  the  republic 
should  come,  the  ruins  of  it  will  be  the  most  melan- 
choly of  all  those  which  mark  the  track  of  nations  ! 
The  only  way  in  which  so  dire  a  calamity  can  be 
averted  is  by  evangelizing  the  masses.  This,  fathers 
and  brethren,  is  one  of  the  deepest  convictions  of  my 
heart.  What  superlative  folly,  then,  for  men  to  rob 
the  treasury  of  the  Lord  in  order  to  hoard  up  fortunes 
for  their  children  !  Rather  let  them,  by  their  Chris- 
tian labors  and  benevolence,  make  sure  that  their  chil- 
dren shall  have  a  country  in  which  to  live  ;  that  there 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    MISSIONS.  215 

shall  be  in  the  country  institutions  under  which 
the  dearest  rights  and  interests  of  life  will  be  pro- 
tected. 

Nor  must  we  forget  that  ''the field  is  the  world.''  A 
thousand  jNIacedonian  cries  come  to  us,  for  one  which 
came  to  Paul.  Our  faith,  our  prayers,  and  our  gifts 
must  embrace  the  whole  world.  It  is  no  mean  honor 
to  belong  to  a  Church  which  has  its  arms  around  the 
globe.  Let  us  not  be  unworthy  sons  of  such  a  Church. 
Rather  than  deny  their  Lord  timid  young  girls  faced 
the  Libyan  tiger  and  the  Nemaaan  lion  in  the  Colos- 
seum. It  is  to  be  feared  that  some  deny  their  Lord 
now  rather  than  give  a  few  dollars  of  their  superfluous 
wealth  to  his  service.  The  Lord  does  not  call  us  to 
martyrdom,  but  surely  he  does  call  us  to  some  service 
which  involves  self-denial  and  self-sacrifice.  In  the 
Levitical  economy  it  was  required  by  statute  that  a 
tenth  be  given  to  the  Lord.  In  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation the  amount  or  proportion  is  left  to  the  con- 
science of  each  individual  :  but  surely  it  should  not 
be  less,  but  more.  Abraham  gave  voluntarily  to 
Melchizedek  a  tithe  of  the  best — "  from  the  top  of  the 
heap."  Of  one  thing  we  may  rest  assured  ;  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  will  come  whether  we  aid  in  its  coming 
or  not.  If  we  refuse  to  do  our  duty,  widows  and 
orphans  will  take  up  the  work  and  carry  it  on. 

Nations  die  of  plethora — of  financial  apoplexy. 
The  hoarded  wealth  of  Rome  destroyed  her.  Mer- 
cenaries bore  her  eagles  to  defeat  and  disgrace.  A 
similar  fate  awaits  this  nation  unless  its  rapidly  ac- 
cumulating wealth  be  carried  through  channels  of 
benevolence  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  In  this  respect 
a  great  responsibility  rests  upon  the   office-bearers  of 


2l6  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  Church  ;  for  if  they  who  bear  the  Ark  of  the 
Lord  go  forward,  the  people  will  follow. 

In  every  system  there  is  some  principle  which  is 
controlling,  harmonizing,  and  regnant.  In  the  prac- 
tical operations  of  the  Church  w^e  find  such  a  princi- 
ple in  the  spirit  of  missions.  When  this  spirit  is  active 
and  vigorous,  all  schemes  of  beneficence  are  carried 
forward  harmoniously  and  successfully  ;  and  this  is 
so,  simply  because  the  spirit  of  missions  is  the  spirit 
of  the  Bible,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Master.  So  long, 
then,  as  this  spirit  is  regnant  in  the  Church,  her  prog- 
ress will  be  steady  and  harmonious  and  abreast  of 
the  developments  of  Providence  ;  and  her  march  will 
be  in  the  line  of  the  covenants,  promises,  and  prophe- 
cies, and  every  step  will  be  toward  victory.  Prepara- 
tory influences  are  at  work  on  a  vast  scale  ;  and  when 
these  shall  have  fulfilled  the  plan  of  God,  then, 
"  nations  shall  be  born  at  once."  The  Lord  of  Hosts 
is  organizing  victory.     "  He  will  hasten  it  in  his  time." 

For  ten  years  the  Grecian  sentinels  kept  their 
watchtowers,  waiting  and  watching  for  the  beacon- 
fires  which  should  announce  the  fall  of  Troy.  At  last 
the  signal  came — a  flash  of  light — and  from  tower  to 
tower  the  fiery  message  leaped  over  land  and  oversea, 
until  from  Ida  to  Argos  the  announcement  of  victory 
had  been  carried  on  the  wing  of  the  flame. 

So  the  watchmen  of  Zion  "  shall  lift  up  the  voice  ; 
with  the  voice  together  shall  they  sing  ;  for  they  shall 
see  eye  to  eye  "  when  the  light  of  the  Gospel  shall 
flash  from  shore  to  shore,  from  island  to  island,  from 
continent  to  continent,  from  pole  to  pole,  and  "the 
whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  his  glory.  Amen  and 
Amen." 


II. 

"  QUIT  YOU  LIKE  MEN.' 


II. 

"QUIT  YOU  LIKE  MEN."* 

"  Quit  you  like  meti." — I  CoR.  xvi.  13. 

These  words  stand  near  the  close  of  this  epistle. 
They  are  a  part  of  the  concluding  exhortation.  The 
sentence  is  a  short,  but  a  very  strong  and  significant 
one.  Neither  the  language  nor  the  idea  was  original 
with  Paul.  The  text  is  a  quotation  from  the  Old 
Testament.  In  a  battle  between  the  Israelites  and 
Philistines,  Israel  was  defeated  with  a  loss  of  four 
thousand  men.  They  wondered  why  the  Lord  had 
smitten  them,  and  determined  to  send  to  Shiloh  for 
the  ark  of  the  covenant  that  it  might  save  them  from 
their  enemies.  Accordingly  the  ark  was  sent  for,  and 
when  it  came  into  the  camp  was  welcomed  with  such 
enthusiastic  shoutings  as  to  send  terror  and  dismay 
throughout  the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  But  the  narra- 
tive itself  is  graphic  : 

"And  when  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord 
came  into  the  camp,  all  Israel  shouted  with  a  great 
shout,  so  that  the  earth  rang  again. 

"  And  when  the  Philistines  heard  the  noise  of  the 
shout,  they  said,  What  meaneth  the  noise  of  this 
great  shout  in  the  camp  of  the  Hebrews  ?     And  they 

*  Before  the  Society  of  Religious  Inquiry,  of  Washington 
College,  June  17,  1855. 

219 


220  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

understood  that  the  ark  of  the  Lord  was  come  into 
the  camp. 

''  And  the  Philistines  were  afraid,  for  they  said,  God 
is  come  into  the  camp.  And  they  said,  woe  unto  us  ! 
for  there  has  not  been  such  a  thing  heretofore. 

''  Woe  unto  us  !  who  shall  deliver  us  out  of  the 
hand  of  these  mighty  Gods  ?  these  are  the  Gods  that 
smote  the  Egyptians  with  all  the  plagues  in  the  wilder- 
ness." 

But  their  language  was  not  all  the  language  of 
despondency  and  despair.  Hear  their  commanders 
speak  : 

"  Be  strong  and  quit  yourselves  like  men,  O  ye 
Philistines,  that  ye  be  not  servants  unto  the  Hebrews, 
as  they  have  been  to  you  :  quit  yourselves  like  men, 
and  fight." 

Paul's  imperial  fancy  laid  all  things  under  tribute. 
From  the  arena  and  the  battle-field  he  drew  some  of 
his  most  startling  imagery.  The  whole  of  the  verse 
from  which  my  text  is  taken  is  couched  in  military 
language  :  "  Watch  ye,  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  quit 
you  like  men,  be  strong."  The  idiom  of  the  text  is 
somewhat  unusual,  yet  very  impressive.  It  is  used 
by  Xenophon  and  other  classic  writers,  and  signifies 
a  manly,  conscientious  discharge  of  duty,  or  intrepid 
conduct  in  danger.  "  Samson,"  says  Milton,  *'  quit 
himself  like  Samson." 

Paul  and  the  Philistine,  however,  spoke  from  very 
different  platforms  indeed.  The  one  stood  on  the 
battle-field — one  sanguinary  conflict  over  and  a  second 
in  prospect ;  while  the  other  stood  on  a  watch-tower 
of  Zion.  The  conduct,  then,  of  course  demanded  by 
the  one  would  involve  in  it  far  more  than  that  de- 


**  QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN.  221 

manded  by  the  other.  A  stubborn  resolution,  with 
more  of  the  dogged  than  the  heroic  in  it,  would  have 
met  the  demands  of  the  Philistine  :  but  Paul  has 
spiritualized  and  expanded  the  idea. 

Christianity  sanctions  neither  churlishness  nor  pusil- 
lanimity. It  makes  the  heart  bigger  and  the  views 
broader — the  affections  more  chaste,  the  sympathies 
more  catholic.  Never,  no,  never  did  Christianity 
make  a  man  anything  less  than  a  man.  It  makes  men 
humble,  it  is  true,  but  humility  is  not  a  mean  or 
crouching  feeling.  It  is  a  rational  sentiment  founded 
on  self-knowledge.  The  humblest  Christian  that  bows 
in  dust  and  ashes  before  his  God  has  a  far  more  ex- 
alted idea  of  the  dignity  of  his  nature  than  the  proud- 
est Pagan  that  ever  trod  the  earth.  Webster  said, 
everything  great  is  simple.  We  may  add,  everything 
great  is  humble.  It  is  narrow  and  unworthy  ideas  of 
what  we  are  and  what  we  are  to  be,  that  make  men 
proud  ;  whereas,  it  is  a  lofty  consciousness  of  the  vast 
capacities  of  the  soul,  and  a  sense  of  the  meagreness 
of  present  attainments,  that  make  men  humble.  The 
Latin  tyro  declining  stella  is  wiser  in  his  own  conceit 
than  Newton  composing  his  Principia.  AVebster  was 
as  much  an  humbler,  as  he  was  a  greater  man  than 
Joe  Smith  the  Mormon.  Absalom  was  prouder  than 
Solomon. 

Christianity  not  only  enlarges  the  heart,  but  the 
intellect  also.  The  Christian's  text-book — the  Bible 
— is  above  all  other  documents,  extant  or  extinct,  in 
sublimity  and  all  that  expands  and  exalts  the  soul. 
Those  who  study  it  most  become  not  only  mighty  in 
the  Scriptures,  but  mighty  in  word  and  deed  also. 
Take  from  Milton  the  language  and  imagery  of  the 


222  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Bible,  and  you  have  shorn  him  of  his  strength  and 
glory.  Byron  borrowed  his  beauties  and  his  sub- 
limities, too,  from  the  Book  of  Books.  Chatham  read 
Isaiah  for  hours  before  going  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  order  to  arouse  and  elevate  his  mind  for  his 
contemplated  effort.  Burke  read  the  Bible  "  morning, 
noon,  and  night."  "  He  formed  a  habit,"  says  his 
biographer,  "  of  going  freely  to  its  pages  for  imagery 
and  illustrations."  And  was  there  ever  a  man  of 
broader  views  than  Burke  ?  '^  The  first  thing,"  says 
a  judicious  reviewer,  '^  that  strikes  us  in  a  survey  of 
Burke's  mind  is  its  remarkable  comprehensiveness. 
He  had  an  amplitude  of  mind,  a  power  and  compass 
of  intellectual  vision,  beyond  that  of  most  men  that 
ever  lived."  I  do  not  say  that  these  Bible  readings 
made  Burke  everything  that  he  was  ;  but  I  will  say, 
that  without  them  he  would  never  have  been  either 
the  man  or  the  orator  that  he  was. 

Christianity  and  the  Bible  had  a  similar  effect  upon 
the  intellect  and  ideas  of  Newton,  our  enemies  them- 
selves being  the  judges.  That  illustrious  philosopher, 
in  his  commentary  on  Daniel,  remarked  that  before 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  (viz.,  1260  years)  the 
modes  of  travelling  would  be  so  improved  that  men 
would  go  fifty  miles  an  hour.  Upon  this,  Voltaire 
made  the  following  criticism  :  "  Now  look  at  that 
mighty  mind  of  Newton  who  discovered  gravitation, 
and  told  such  marvels  for  us  all  to  admire  ;  when  he 
became  an  old  man  and  got  into  his  dotage,  he  began 
to  study  that  book  called  the  Bible,  and  it  seems  that 
in  order  to  credit  its  fabulous  nonsense  we  must  be- 
lieve that  the  knowledge  of  mankind  will  be  so 
increased  that  we  shall  be  able  to  travel  fifty  miles  an 


"  QUIT    VOU    LIKE    MEN."  223 

hour.  The  poor  old  dotard  !  "  A  Httle  more  than  a 
century  only  has  elapsed  since  Newton  penned  his 
prediction,  and  we  travel  already  sixty  miles  an  hour. 
Besides,  we  have  summoned  "  the  winged  minister  of 
thunder"  to  our  service,  and  send  it  over  the  land  and 
under  the  water,  to  do  our  errands  for  us.  In  the  light 
of  the  nineteenth  centur}^  Voltaire's  opprobrious  epi- 
thet, dotard,  seems  much  more  applicable  to  himself 
than  to  the  object  of  his  pity. 

Permit  me  now  to  enumerate  some  things  which, 
according  to  my  conception  of  the  subject,  enter  into 
the  character  and  course  of  conduct  demanded  by 
the  text.  And  here,  I  observe,  that  this  character  in 
its  general  features  comprises  : 

I.  Love  and  loyalty  to  God, 

II.  Integrity  toward  man, 

III.  And  fidelity  to  self. 

No  one  will  presume  to  say  that  Wolsey  was  any 
less  honorable  or  manly  because  he  loved  and  assidu- 
ously served  his  king.  His  error  was  not  that  he 
loved  and  served  his  sovereign,  but  that  he  loved  and 
served  him  to  the  exclusion  of  his  Creator  ;  hence  his 
bitter  reflection  on  his  death-bed,  that  if  he  had  served 
his  God  as  he  had  served  his  king  he  would  not,  then, 
have  deserted  him. 

If  love  and  loyalty  to  an  earthly  king  be  manly, 
love  and  loyalty  to  the  King  of  Kings,  still  more. 
Love  to  God  as  a  principle  of  action  is  the  grand 
governor  in  the  machinery  of  a  man's  motives  and 
efforts.  This  is  the  loadstone  that  gives  to  human  pur- 
suits their  proper  direction — a  heavenward  tendency. 
To  adopt  the  figure  of  another  :  "  If  you  carry  steel 
filings  from  a  muddy  street  to  a  beautiful  garden,  you 


224  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

make  an  improvement  in  their  condition,  but  if  you 
apply  a  magnet  to  them,  you  give  to  them  another 
motion  altogether,  and  lift  them  not  horizontally  but 
vertically  from  the  earth."  All  the  elevation  of  man 
by  science  and  civilization  is  only  a  horizontal  change. 
It  is  reserved  for  grace  to  change  man's  pursuits  from 
a  prone  to  an  upward  direction — to  raise  him  from 
earth  toward  heaven. 

Without  this  controlling  element  the  most  laudable 
enterprises  are  ''  Babel-building  and  will  have  a 
Babel  issue."  "  A  crown  reached  in  the  face  of  God 
will  be  but  a  burning  circlet.  A  throne  or  a  presi- 
dential chair  attained  by  violation  of  the  laws  of  God 
will  be  a  restless  seat.  Reputation  and  renown 
achieved  in  spite  of  God  will  be  but  poor  enjoyment 
to  him  who  has  them."  But  how  all  this  Babel  ambi- 
tion of  getting  a  name  sinks  into  less  than  insignifi- 
cance in  presence  of  the  grand  master  principle  of  the 
Christian  life.  Love  to  God  once  in  the  heart,  and 
human  life  moves  on,  "  wheel  within  wheel,"  with  all 
the  beautiful  regularity  and  delicate  adjustment  of  a 
celestial  system — steady  and  undeviating  as  the  rings 
of  Saturn,  as  they  whirl  with  almost  incredible 
velocity  around  their  planet  and  keep  it  company,  at 
the  same  time,  in  its  pathway  round  the  sun,  bound 
by  no  bands — suspended  in  space  by  no  power,  save 
the  invisible  but  omnipotent  influence  of  attraction. 
How  alike  are  God's  natural  and  moral  governments  ! 
"  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness," 
is  the  precept ;  "  and  all  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you,"  is  the  promise.  What  is  this  but  the  law  of 
gravitation  in  the  moral  universe?  "All  falls  under 
it,  clusters  around   it,  becomes  holy  and   prosperous 


"  QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN."  225 

just  by  loves  being;  in  the  heart  and  actuating  all." 
The  sum  of  the  moral  law  is  love  to  God  and  integ- 
rity toward  man,  and  there  is  not  a  virtue  adorns  our 
nature  or  exalts  our  species  but  is  the  offspring  of 
these  parent  virtues.  Conformity  to  God's  law  will 
evolve  a  manhood  of  the  most  consummate  symmetry, 
perfection,  and  proportion.  Deviating  from  this 
standard,  down  the  scale  we  go  till  we  land  in 
drunkenness  and  debauchery,  on  a  level  with  the  beast. 

But  while  the  moral  law  enjoins  duties  toward  God 
and  man  it  no  less  distinctly  enjoins  duties  toward 
self.  We  have  an  inspired  epitome  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments in  which  self-love  is  made  the  standard  of 
our  philanthropy.  The  law  requires  no  man  to  love 
his  neighbor,  whether  Jew  or  Samaritan — more  than 
himself.  To  defend  one's  body,  and  one's  good 
name — compared  with  which  '-  the  purse  is  trash  " — 
is  only  to  obey  an  exalted  instinct.  He  who  does  less 
is  a  suicide. 

But  to  descend  to  particulars,  I  observe  :  It  is 
manly  and  manlike  to  bear  contumely  and  reproach 
in  defence  of  the  truth,  in  advocacy  of  the  right,  and 
in  behalf  of  the  weak.  So  long  as  the  constitution 
of  our  nature  continues  as  it  is,  it  will  require  more 
of  moral  heroism  than  men  ordinarily  possess,  to 
brook  the  sneers  of  public  odium.  The  pangs  of  the 
rack  or  the  stake  are  little  harder  to  endure  than  the 
pointing  of  the  finger  of  scorn.  John  Blair  Smith 
said,  that  of  all  the  trials  and  sufferings  enumerated 
in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrew.s,  none  struck  him 
as  being  so  severe  as  the  "  cruel  mockings  "  mentioned 
there.  The  wagging  of  the  heads  of  the  passers-by 
was  made  an  ingredient  in  the  Crucifixion.     To  bear 


226  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

popular  contumely  from  day  to  day— to  be  met  at 
every  corner  by  the  pointing  of  scorn's  contemptu- 
ous finger,  and  to  see  continually  the  wagging  of  the 
heads  of  those  that  pass  by,  is  a  living  crucifixion 
still.  Yet  the  world  has  but  little  of  which  to  be 
proud  to-night  but  has  cost  some  one  suffering,  loss 
and  ridicule.  The  first  principle  of  modern  astron- 
omy, taught  now  in  the  nursery  and  the  lap,  cost  poor 
old  Galileo  wearisome  days  and  nights  in  prison. 
The  right  of  private  judgment — a  free  pen  and  a  free 
press — cost  both  blood  and  treasure.  It  is  said  there 
was  not  a  single  man  in  the  venerable  Synod  of  Dort 
who  had  not  been  maimed  or  mutilated  in  some  limb 
or  member,  for  the  truth's  sake.  Hampden  braved 
the  displeasure  of  his  sovereign,  rather  than  pay  a 
penny  or  a  peppercorn  of  unjust  taxation.  Such  men 
are  martyrs,  for  they  had  the  spirit  of  a  martyr  and 
should  have  a  martyr's  crown. 

Again  :  It  is  manlike  to  live  and  labor  for  the 
amelioration  of  the  present,  and  the  permanent  good 
of  posterity,  to  the  disregard  of  the  ephemeral  applause 
that  accrues  to  the  sycophant  and  time-server. 

Popular  fame  and  favor  have  a  marvellous  power 
over  the  human  mind  and  heart.  To  obtain  them, 
many  (alas  !  but  too  many)  are  willing  to  sacrifice 
their  integrity  and  independence,  and  to  assume  the 
air  and  address  of  the  demagogue  Absalom.  To  such 
the  voice  of  the  people  is  louder  than  the  voice  of  God. 
"  But  to  put  to  hazard  one's  ease,  security,  interest,  or 
popularity,"  for  the  benefit  of  those  he  has  never  seen 
is  a  trait — you  may  depend  upon  it,  my  brethren — it  is 
a  trait  of  the  true  man. 

The  path  of  duty  is  rarely  easy  and  never,  indeed. 


"  QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN.  227 

flowery.  ''  Obloquy,"  says  Burke,  "  is  a  necessary 
ingredient  in  the  composition  of  all  true  glory.  Not 
only  in  Roman  customs,  but  in  the  very  nature  and 
constitution  of  things,  calumny  and  abuse  are  essen- 
tial parts  of  a  triumph."  To  relinquish  honors  and 
hopes  for  the  sake  of  sentiments  honestly  adhered  to, 
to  turn  the  back  upon  and  pursue  a  course  that  leads 
away  from  ease  and  laurels,  and  do  it  from  a  con- 
viction of  duty,  is  manlike.  But  if  there  is  in  all  the 
wide,  wide  world  one  who  should  be  taken  as  the 
standard  of  all  that  is  pusillanimous  and  little,  it  is 
he  who  cringingly  compromises  his  sentiments  for 
popularity  or  applause,  and  accommodates  his  con- 
duct to  the  crooked  policy  of  avarice  or  ambition. 
He  who  subdues  a  hemisphere,  and  does  it  from  self- 
ish and  sordid  motives,  deserves  not  as  much  glory 
as  he  who  plants  a  tree  for  posterity.  Byron  sought 
the  applause  of  his  own  generation,  and  catered  to  the 
tastes  of  a  degenerate  age  to  win  it.  Verily,  he 
obtained  his  reward  !  Milton  had  an  aim  and  object 
far  above  the  mercenary  motives  of  most  men.  His 
invocation  is  not  to  Mammon  or  the  Muses,  but  to 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Yet  Byron  acquired  fame  and  a 
fortune,  too,  while  Milton  realized  but  fifteen  paltry 
pounds  for  "  Paradise  Lost."  But  it  is  not  difficult 
to  decide  which  of  these  men  acted  more  in  consist- 
ence with  the  dictates  of  a  true  manliness.  Ay  !  it  is 
manlike  to  spurn  lucre  and  reputation  when  the 
attainment  of  them  conflicts  with  our  duty  to  God 
or  to  our  fellow-men.  None  but  the  truly  manly  do  it. 
Again  :  To  alleviate  misery  ;  to  go  to  the  house  of 
mourning  in  preference  to  the  house  of  feasting  ;  to 
light  up  the  chamber  of  sickness  and  suffering  ;  "  to 


228  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

explore  the  thought  and  explain  the  asking  eye  of 
the  sufferer";  to  brighten  the  path  of  life  and 
smooth  the  pillow  of  death  ;  this,  this  is  manlike — I 
had  almost  said  it  is  godlike. 

Howard  in  the  pestilence  and  prisons  of  Europe 
is  a  far  prouder  specimen  of  our  species  than  Napo- 
leon on  the  throne  of  France,  with  a  nation  at  his 
feet  and  a  world  in  awe  of  him.  Miss  Nightingale 
amidst  the  sick  and  wounded,  in  the  hospitals  of  Scu- 
tari, is  a  far,  far  greater  glory  to  her  sex  and  her  race 
than  the  Queen  of  England  and  the  Empress  of 
France,  amidst  the  pomp  and  parade  of  a  royal  visit 
to  London.  The  traveller  in  the  millennium  will  pass 
by  in  disgust  all  the  .sensual  and  fulsome  inscriptions 
on  the  tombs  of  kings  and  conquerors — from  that  of 
Sardanapalus,  which  Aristotle  said  was  fit  only  for  a 
hog,  to  that  of  the  latest  royal  murderer — but  will 
pause  and  read  with  peculiar  interest  the  simple 
epitaph  of  Howard  :  "  Vixit  proptei-  alios,''  and  feel 
while  standing  there,  that  he  is  at  the  grave  of  a  man 
who  in  his  lifetime  quit  himself  like  a  man. 

The  history  of  the  world  furnishes  the  life  and 
example  of  but  one  perfect  man.  That  example, 
however,  thank  Heaven  !  is  neither  negative  nor 
neutral.  Christ's  philanthropy  is  always  and  every- 
where apparent.  He  not  only  went  about  doing  good 
but  went  in  search  of  good  to  do.  Nor  did  ridicule 
and  contempt  dampen  his  benevolence  or  arrest  in 
the  least  his  beneficence.  Amidst  scorn  and  laugh- 
ter he  raised  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue's  daughter. 
Escaping  from  an  infuriated  mob,  who  are  attempting 
to  stone  him,  he  meets  a  blind  man  ;  and  apparently 
unconscious  of  his  own  situation,  stops  and   restores 


"QUIT    YOU     MKE    MKX."  229 

the  man's  sight.  The  S:iviour's  sympathies  were 
hemmed  in  by  no  restrictions  of  caste,  narrowed 
down  by  no  country  or  creed.  The  Syro-Phenician 
and  Samaritan — the  soldier  and  the  soldier's  servant, 
his  friend,  and  his  foe  in  arms  against  him — challenged 
alike  his  attention  and  his  tenderness.  He  was  no 
less  very  God  and  perfect  man,  while  weeping  at  the 
grave  of  his  friend  Lazarus,  than  when  entering  Jeru- 
salem amidst  the  hosannasof  the  inhabitants.  If  there 
is  any  virtue  or  meaning  in  Divine  precept  and  example, 
then,  verily,  a  philanthropic  heart,  a  benevolent  dis- 
position, and  beneficent  hand  are  the  noblest  attri- 
butes of  our  nature. 

Again  :  An  energy  that  is  indomitable  and  that 
never  desponds  is  a  trait  of  the  true  man. 

Milton  has  almost  constrained  us  to  admire  vSatan 
himself,  by  investing  him  with  just  such  a  character. 

"  To  be  weak  is  to  be  miserable,  doing  or  suffering." 
Luther  never  rises  into  loftier  sublimity  than  when 
rallying  his  timid  and  misgiving  comrade  Melanchthon. 
Washington  was  never  in  his  life  more  himself  than 
when,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  the  Revolution,  he  aroused 
the  expiring  energies  of  his  staff  by  telling  them  that 
he  could  not  yet  persuade  himself  that  his  neck,  which 
he  playfully  clasped  with  both  his  hands,  was  made 
for  a  halter.  There  spoke  out  the  spirit  of  a  man, 
indeed,  in  whom  there  was  no  guile.  Canrobert  was 
never  more  of  a  man  or  a  hero  than  when  he  told  the 
discouraged  allies  to  "  be  still  ;  be  still  ;  if  they  could 
not  get  into  Sevastopol  by  the  door,  they  would  leap  in 
at  the  window."  The  storm  strengthens  the  sturdy 
oaks  ;  it  is  the  weak  ones  only  that  it  prostrates.  Yet 
a  man  may  win  battles,  subdue  empires,  or  in  a  pro- 


230  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

pitious  moment  vault  into  a  vacant  throne  and  after 
all  be  only,  at  best,  a  lucky  fool  ;  but  he  who  wins 
his  way,  step  by  step,  through  difficulties  and  dis- 
couragements— nothing  daunted  all  the  while — though 
it  be  but  to  the  humblest  post  of  influence  and  useful- 
ness, "  gives  to  the  world  assurance  of  a  man." 
Cicero  in  his  study  was  a  greater  hero  than  Csesar  in 
a  battle.  At  one  time  in  the  battle  of  Inkermann,  a 
division  of  the  British  army  was  surrounded  by  ten 
times  their  number.  At  this  critical  hour  the  terror- 
stricken  soldiers  cried  out  to  Sir  George  Cathcart, 
the  commander,  that  the  ammunition  was  failing. 
"  Have  you  not  still  your  bayonets,  boys  ?  "  calmly 
replied  Sir  George.  The  old  hero  fell  a  few  moments 
after,  covered  with  mortal  wounds,  but  that  remark 
itself  will  immortalize  him.  When  one  resource  fails, 
it  is  a  characteristic  of  manly  energy  to  fly  to  what  is 
left.  When  the  cartridges  are  expended,  brethren, 
rely  upon  the  bayonet.  And  then,  when  this  energy 
of  which  I  am  speaking  is  strengthened  by  faith  and 
perseverance  quickened  by  prayer,  they  become  ele- 
ments that  possess  more  than  a  talismanic  power. 

Once  more  :  Generosity  is  an  element  of  manliness. 

It  is  unnecessary,  before  this  audience,  to  draw  a  dis- 
tinction between  generosity  and  prodigality,  between 
the  benevolent  man  and  the  spendthrift.  Yet  this 
trait  will  appear  to  better  advantage  when  laid  along- 
side of  its  opposite,  avarice. 

Of  all  the  gods  enthroned  in  the  Pantheon  of  an 
idolatrous  world's  worship,  the  Money  God  is  the 
meanest  ;  and  of  all  men  among  mankind,  the  miser 
has  the  narrowest  heart.  Avarice  contracts  the  soul 
into  a  nutshell  and  congeals  the  heart  into  an  icicle- 


"  QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN.  23 1 

The  drunkard  may  plead  early  temptation  as  an  excuse 
for  his  vices.  The  gambler  attempts  to  extenuate  his 
crime  by  calling  it  polite  amusement  or  gentlemanly 
sport.  The  duellist  quotes  the  code  of  honor  and 
screens  himself,  though  dripping  with  blood,  behind  his 
chivalry,  and  even  the  highwayman  talks  loudly  of  his 
bravery  and  lofty  daring  ;  but  what  excuse  or  extenua- 
tion for  the  miser  ?  The  mean  idolator,  who  "  adores 
the  dirt  matured  to  gold."  Avarice  is  not  only  antag- 
onistic to  true  manliness,  but  it  is  pusillanimity.  It 
was  Mammon — "  the  least  erected  spirit  that  fell  from 
heaven" — that  broke  ground  in  building  Pandemo- 
nium ;  and  from  that  day  to  this  the  fiend  has  been 
pursuing  his  graceless  calling.  In  every  heart  of 
which  he  takes  possession  he  builds  a  Pandemonium, 
where  he  and  the  seven  other  evil  spirits  he  always 
takes  with  him,  revel  and  hold  jubilee,  to  the  total 
exclusion  of  everything  that  is  generous  or  good. 
The  laws  and  institutions  of  Lycurgus  were  designed 
to  develop  the  magnanimity  of  the  nation.  According 
to  those  institutions  the  money  of  the  Spartans  was 
made  of  iron,  and  even  yet  the  name  Spartan  is  almost 
synonymous  with  all  that  is  magnanimous  and  noble. 
All  nature  is  generous  and  teaches  us  an  example 
of  generosity.  The  rose  is  not  stingy  of  its  fragrance 
even  to  the  desert  air.  The  clouds  do  not  hoard 
their  treasures,  but  shower  them  upon  the  woods  and 
fields,  and  they,  in  return,  send  up  their  vapors  as 
incense  to  the  clouds  again.  The  earth  gives  forth 
nourishment  to  the  orchard  and  the  garden,  and  they, 
in  return,  throw  down  their  golden  gifts  into  the  lap  of 
their  mother.  How  dare  that  man  lay  claim  to  genu- 
ine humanity  who  is  not  only  dead  to  all  the  generous 


232  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

impulses  of  his  own  nature,  but  insensible,  also,  to 
the  teachings  of  inanimate  nature  all  about  and  above 
him  ?  He  who  spends  his  life  in  hoarding  dollar  upon 
dollar,  only  in  the  end  to  tantalize  him  with  con- 
tentment and  happiness  ;  who  sits  counting  and  con- 
templating his  money  in  his  chest,  while  wretchedness 
and  want  stand  shivering  at  his  door  ;  who  shuts  his 
heart  as  closely  as  his  coffer  to  all  the  appeals  of 
charity  at  home  and  to  the  Macedonian  cry  that 
pierces  his  ear,  from  every  point  of  the  compass,  from 
abroad — oh,  it  is  folly,  absolute  folly,  to  say  that  such 
a  one  is  a  man  in  Paul's  sense  of  the  word  ! 

As  another  element  of  manliness  I  would  specify  a 
rational  courage  that  shrinks  not  to  meet  death  in 
the  path  of  duty,  whenever,  however,  or  wherever, 
that  event  may,  in  the  providence  of  God,  take  place. 

This,  of  course,  is  different  from  that  recklessness 
that  throws  life  away  as  a  thing  not  worth  having. 
The  courage  of  which  I  speak  is  consistent  with  the 
most  perfect  prudence. 

Death  is  by  no  means  the  greatest  calamity  that 
can  befall  a  person.  A  man  may  live  too  long. 
When  life  no  longer  meets  the  ends  of  life,  it  ceases 
to  be  desirable.  Napoleon  said  he  should  have  died 
at  Waterloo,  or  sooner.  He  spoke,  it  is  true,  from  the 
abundance  of  a  vain  heart,  but  asserted  a  great  truth, 
nevertheless.  To  his  friends,  who  were  dissuading 
him  from  sailing  on  a  certain  occasion,  Pompey  re- 
plied :  "  It  is  necessary  for  me  to  sail,  but  it  is  not  nec- 
essary for  me  to  live."  A  pompous  speech  in  Pom- 
pey's  sense  of  it  ;  yet,  it  has  a  Christian  application 
and  propriety.  I  would  couch  my  counsel  to  you, 
brethren,  on  this  subject,  in  the  words  of  Michael   to 


"  QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN."  233 

Adam  :  "  Nor  love,  nor  hate  thy  life  ;  but  what  thou 
livest  Hve  well." 

It  was  not  the  Spirit  of  God,  nor  yet  an  angel,  but 
the  devil  who  said  a  man  would  give  all  he  had  for 
his  life  ;  and  this,  like  the  other  assertions  of  its 
author,  is  a  lie  and  a  slander  on  humanity. 

Let  us,  now,  take  a  glance  (for  we  can  do  no  more) 
at  the  times  we  live  in,  and  see  if  there  is  not  enough 
in  them  to  call  into  vigorous  exercise  every  energy 
and  manly  attribute  of  our  natures. 

In  many  respects  our  age  is  an  extraordinary  and 
exciting  one.  Change  follows  change  in  quick  suc- 
cession. Event  treads  on  the  heels  of  event.  The 
wires  quiver  beneath  the  magnitude  of  their  messages. 
In  nothing,  either,  is  the  age  more  extraordinary  than 
in  "  its  uncommon  combinations  of  men  and  affairs," 
The  bankrupt  vagabond  of  '48  is  the  adored  idol  of 
'55.  Two  nations  that  have  been  implacable  enemies, 
from  time  almost  immemorial,  are  allies  in  the  Crimean 
campaign.  The  guns  that  thundered  defiance  and 
destruction  against  each  other  at  Waterloo  are  now 
turned  in  common  cause  against  Sevastopol.  The 
author  of  atrocities  which  a  few  years  ago  shocked 
civilization  to  its  centre,  and  at  which  England  stood 
aghast  with  horror,  is  the  lately  promoted  and  highly 
applauded  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  French  forces 
in  the  Crimea. 

Special  and  astonishing  providences,  too,  are  every- 
where observable.  He  who  is  insensible  of  them  must 
shut  his  eyes  and  stop  his  ears.  Amidst  the  most 
exciting  scenes  Europe  has  been  witness  of  for  ages, 
the  Czar — the  prominent  actor  in  the  terrible  drama — 
is  suddenly  cut  down.     But  yesterday  he  '*  was  rejoic- 


234  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

ing  in  the  rapture  of  the  strife,  and  like  a  chariot 
wheel  catching  fire  as  he  went."  To-night  Nicholas 
sleeps  alongside  of  his  fathers.  The  Emperor  and 
usurper  of  France  is  taking  an  evening  ride  through 
the  streets  of  Paris.  A  resolute  man,  but  a  few  paces 
from  him,  levels  a  pistol  at  his  breast  and  fires  twice. 
Napoleon's  career  is  not  yet  accomplished,  and  till 
then  he  is  immortal.  The  same  hand  that  preserved 
the  young  George  Washington  from  the  seventeen 
balls  of  the  savage  marksman  on  Braddock's  field 
preserved  Louis  Napoleon  from  the  two  balls  of  the 
assassin  Pianori.  It  is  consoling  to  be  assured,  by 
such  special  interpositions  of  Providence  as  these,  that 
amidst  all  the  din  and  clash  of  current  events  the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth.  There  is  not  a 
manoeuvre  performed  by  Menshikoff,  Raglan,  or 
Pelissier,  but  the  evolutions  are  inspected  by  the  eye, 
and  directed  by  the  hand,  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 
There  is  not  a  battery  or  bastion  projected  by  Tod- 
leben  but  had  its  design  from  eternity  in  the  mind  of 
the  Architect  of  the  universe.  There  is  not  a  ball  or 
a  shell  thrown  from  or  against  Sevastopol  but  is 
guided  by  the  same  hand  that  guided  the  arrow  shot 
at  a  venture — through  the  joints  of  the  harness  and  to 
the  vitals  of  Ahab.  There  is  not  an  event  occurs — 
jagged  and  rough-hewn  though  it  seem  to  us — but 
will  fall  with  perfect  adjustment  into  its  appropriate 
place  in  God's  plan  and  purpose.  But  I  am  digress- 
ing. I  return  to  ask  what  all  these  things  mean  ?  Or, 
"  are  they  without  a  mission  or  a  meaning  ?  "  No  ! 
They  are  portentously  significant.  They  are  the 
handwriting  of  God  in  the  presence  chamber  of  all 
nations.     I  do  not  pretend  or  presume  to  interpret 


*'  QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN."  235 

these  mysterious  characters,  in  which  the  signs  of  the 
times  are  written.  I  do  not  say,  I  do  not  believe, 
that  passing  events  will  usher  in  the  millennium  ;  but 
it  certainly  requires  a  considerable  degree  of  apathy 
and  indifference  not  to  feel  that  we  are  hurrying  on 
to  some  important  period  in  human  history.  An  ava- 
lanche of  events  is  manifestly  precipitating  us  into 
some  astonishing  crisis  or  catastrophe.  Presentiments 
are  said  to  be  prophecies.  If  this  is  true,  the  public 
mind  at  present  is  one  vast  volume  of  unwritten  proph- 
ecy.  From  the  old  gray-headed  man  to  the  gay 
and  giddy  school-girl,  there  is  in  the  minds  of  all  a 
presentiment  of  something  momentous  impending. 
Dr.  Gumming,  supposing  that  the  earthquake  spoken 
of  in  the  Apocalypse  under  the  seventh  vial  is  to 
be  literally  fulfilled,  says  he  is  every  day  expecting 
to  hear  the  rending  of  the  earth's  crust  and  the 
outburst  of  its  subterranean,  long  pent  up  elements. 
To  say  nothing,  my  friends,  of  a  physical  earthquake  ; 
the  world,  by  its  premonitory  sighings  and  tremblings, 
gives  signs  of  an  approaching  moral  convulsion  that 
will  send  a  thousand  tottering  systems  reeling  to 
their  downfall  and  destruction.  The  Crescent  is  wan- 
ing to  inevitable  extinction.  The  river  Euphrates — 
the  emblem  of  the  Moslem  power — is  rapidly  drying 
up.  And  while  the  Koran  is  destined  soon  to  become 
an  obsolete  and  unread  book,  a  steamship  is  now  in 
readiness  to  carry  a  million  Testaments  and  half  as 
many  Bibles  to  China.  Paganism  is  slowly  but  surely 
dying  out.  So  weak  and  unpopular  is  Popery  at 
home,  that  the  papal  chair  has  to  be  propped  up  with 
French  bayonets.  China  is  surging  in  a  revolution. 
"  Uneasy  lies  every  head  that  wears  a  crown  "  to-night. 


236  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Daniel  gives  it  as  a  feature  of  the  times  of  the  end 
that  many  shall  run  to  and  fro  and  knowledge  be  in- 
creased. To  be  satisfied  that  we  occupy  this  very 
point  of  prophecy,  let  anyone  stand  for  an  hour  on 
one  of  our  wharfs,  or  at  a  railroad  station.  Over  the 
iron  net-work  that  covers  the  earth,  up  and  down  our 
rivers,  and  across  our  oceans,  thousands  pass  and 
repass — to  Kansas,  California,  and  Australia — as  in- 
cessantly as  the  running  to  and  fro  in  an  ant-hill. 
And  is  not  knowledge  increased  ?  Is  it  not  increasing 
with  almost  incredible  rapidity  ?  The  best  kind  of 
knowledge,  too.  At  the  beginning  of  this  century 
there  were  not  more  than  five  millions  of  Bibles  in  the 
world.  Since  that  time  the  Foreign  Bible  Society 
itself  has  sent  out  thirty  millions,  and  private  enter- 
prise perhaps  twice  that  number.  Astronomers  are 
exploring  immensity  in  search  of  new  worlds,  and  find- 
ing them.  Men  go  to  the  ends  and  the  depths  of  the 
earth — to  the  North  Pole,  and  into  the  tomb  of  buried 
cities — in  search  of  knowledge  ;  nor  is  their  search  in 
vain.  Science  and  skill  have  despoiled  disease  of 
more  than  half  its  terrors ;  and,  indeed,  in  every 
department  the  very  palpableness  of  the  truth  that 
knowledge  is  increased  has  quite  taken  away  its  force. 
Society,  brethren,  is  on  the  advance,  and  he  who  in  his 
sympathies  and  feelings  does  not  keep  pace  with  it  is 
not  fulfilling  his  mission  as  a  man.  He  who  will  not 
voluntarily  keep  up  with  the  eager  throng,  will  either 
be  carried  along  with  it,  nolens  volens^  or  trampled 
down  and  left  in  the  dust  where  he  ought  to  be. 

But  the  name  and  object  of  your  society  direct 
our  inquiries  more  particularly  to  the  religious  com- 
plexion of  the  times. 


"QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN."  237 

To  imagine  that  the  struggles  in  the  cause  of  truth 
are  over  is  Utopian.  Just  now  a  reckless  infidelity, 
supported  by  an  insinuating  system  of  error,  is  de- 
ploying into  the  field  ;  a  force  more  formidable  per- 
haps than  Christianity  ever  faced  before.  It  will  be 
well  for  the  Church,  and  well  for  the  world,  if  there  be 
found  men  adequate  to  the  crisis. 

The  history  of  the  next  fifty  years  will,  without 
doubt,  form  a  thrilling  chapter  in  the  annals  of  the 
world  and  be  read  with  avidity  till  time  shall  be  no 
longer.  This  is  an  age  of  mammoth  enterprises  ;  so, 
too,  it  is  destined  to  be  an  age  of  Titanic  strifes.  The 
enemies  of  our  Christianity  must  be  met  in  serried 
columns  and  single  combat.  Infidelity  will  have  to 
be  counteracted  in  the  daily  print  and  in  the  gilded 
quarto,  in  the  court  and  in  the  coal-pit. 

Few  men  attain  so  impious  a  temerity  as  to  deny 
altogether  the  Divine  Existence.  The  atheist  has 
always  been  considered  a  moral  monster.  The 
Athenians  drove  him  from  their  city.  Atheism  is  the 
Ultima  Thule  of  unbelief  ;  yet  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  before  long  the  restless  heavings  of  humanity 
will  turn  up  some  more  daring  system  than  the  world 
has  ever  yet  seen.  But  if  out  and  out  atheists  and 
atheism  are  rare,  we  have  enough  of  both  in  disguise. 
A  system  that  degrades  God  to  a  mere  process  of 
thought,  and  makes  Christ  a  creation  of  the  Church, 
rather  than  the  Founder  and  Redeemer  of  it,  is  cer- 
tainly not  many  removes  from  the  sheerest  atheism. 
Now,  rationalism  does  this,  and  even  more.  It  anni- 
hilates a  historical  Christianity,  and  resolves  the 
simple  but  sublime  life  of  Christ  into  a  gorgeous 
myth.     The  cradle  of  the  Reformation  is  filled  with 


238  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  nestlings  of  scepticism,  and  it  will  require  a  work 
little  less  arduous  than  cleansing  the  Augean  stables 
to  purge  Germany. 

Driven  from  one  point  the  enemies  of  Christianity 
retreat,  only  to  intrench  themselves  in  another.  De- 
feated on  one  field,  they  fly  as  decently  as  they  can  to 
the  next.  This  shifting  process  has  been  going  on 
for  ages,  and  from  present  appearances  will  continue 
for  a  long  time  to  come.  Half  a  century  ago  the  dis- 
tinctive doctrines  of  Christianity  had  to  be  defended 
on  the  ground  of  Biblical  criticism.  On  this  field 
our  foes  were  fairly  vanquished.  The  most  heartless 
and  ruthless  criticism  could  not  expunge  from  the 
Bible  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  the 
Atonement  and  spiritual  Regeneration.  It  is  not  now 
denied  that  these  doctrines  are  found  in  the  Bible,  or 
that  miracles  are  recorded  in  the  Gospels,  but  then 
these  are  all  resolved  into  myths,  fictions,  and  philo- 
sophical figments.  Hume  said  miracles  were  incredi- 
ble, but  Strauss  and  his  compeers  have  gone  in 
advance  of  him,  and  pronounced  them  impossible. 
The  contest  must  now  be  in  behalf  of  a  historical 
Christianity. 

The  young  advocate  of  Christianity  must  expect  to 
encounter  infidelity  in  all  its  phases,  from  the  boldest 
atheism  down  to  the  most  diluted  form  that  it  assumes 
as  it  floats  through  the  yellow  literature  of  the  day. 
Proteus  was  distinguished  for  his  shapes — Rumor  for 
her  tongues — Error  has  its  complement  of  both.  It 
assumes  the  form  of  an  angel  of  light,  and  talks  in 
glowing  language  of  the  Gospel,  but  with  a  kiss  be- 
trays it  into  the  hands  of  its  crucifiers.  Subtle  and 
adroit  as  the  serpent,  it  flatters  the  pride  of  the  human 


"  QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN.  239 

heart  ;  or,  as  the  "  toad  squat  "  at  the  ear  of  the  sleep- 
ing Eve,  appeals  to  the  worst  passions  of  our  poor 
fallen  nature. 

Pantheism,  that  makes  the  worm  an  incarnation  of 
Deity  ;  rationalism,  that  ignores  Providence,  resolves 
inspiration  into  genius,  and  makes  prayer  preposter- 
ous ;  spiritualism,  that  "  surrenders  Christianity  into 
the  power  of  mere  sentiment"  ;  indifferentism,  that 
"  makes  a  man  no  more  responsible  for  his  belief 
than  he  is  for  the  hue  of  his  skin  or  the  height  of  his 
stature,"  and  a  stolid  formalism,  that  reduces  a  vital 
and  vigorous  Christianity  to  a  haggard  skeleton  of 
ceremonies — these,  these  are  thy  enemies,  oh,  Church  ! 

''  Heresies,"  it  has  been  said, ''  are  like  the  river  Are- 
thusa,  though  they  lose  their  current  in  one  place  they 
rise  up  again  in  another."  Our  day  is  pre-eminently 
distinguished  for  the  revival  of  old  errors,  for  the  resur- 
rection of  dead  and  decomposed  systems.  These 
carcasses  are  raised  from  the  tomb  to  which  they 
were  long  ago  consigned,  dressed  up  in  modern  cos- 
tume, and  exhibited  to  the  public,  with  a  Barnum 
amount  of  impudence  and  assurance.  Pantheism,  in 
all  its  poetic  and  attractive  attire,  is  paraded  as  a  new 
creation,  just  sprung  from  the  brain  of  some  transcen- 
dentalist ;  but  long,  long  ago,  the  sages  of  India 
taught  substantially  the  same  system.  There  were, 
no  doubt,  pantheistic  antediluvians.  There  were  pan- 
theists, at  any  rate,  in  Japan  ages  before  Spinoza  was 
born.  That  the  Egyptians  were  pantheists  might  be  in- 
ferred from  their  worshipping  beasts.  That  they  were 
such  the  monuments  of  the  country  fully  demonstrate. 
From  Egypt  pantheism  migrated  to  Greece,  and 
thence  to   Rome  ;  is   now  revived   in    Germany,  and 


240  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

transported  to  America,  by  such  men  as  Emerson. 
Carlyle's  hero  worship  is  only  a  revival  of  ancient 
apotheosis.  Rationalism  is  but  another  name  for  Epi- 
cureanism. Justin  Martyr  says  the  philosophers  of 
his  day  thought  it  useless  to  pray  to  God,  since  all 
things  recur  according  to  the  unchangeable  laws  of  an 
endless  progression.  The  positivist  of  this  day 
harps  upon  the  same  string  precisely.  Spirit  rappings 
are  only  the  loosened  tongue  of  Delphi's  dumb- 
struck oracle.  And  so  I  might  go  on.  Now  to  ex- 
pose the  origin  of  these  errors  is  a  very  effectual  way 
of  arresting  their  progress.  It  is  humiliating  for  men 
who  plume  themselves  before  the  public  as  the  legiti- 
mate proprietors  of  some  patented  system  to  be  shown 
to  be  mere  hucksters  of  the  wares  of  other  men.  It 
is  not  pusillanimous,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  thus  to  ex- 
pose these  z/;/manly  moderns,  who  pilfer  their  errors 
from  ancients  and  palm  them  off  as  original. 

Roman  Catholicism — the  Antichrist,  and  arch 
enemy  of  Christianity — must  very  much  occupy  the 
attention  of  every  Protestant  American  for  years  to 
come.  After  the  Congress  at  St.  Peter's  last  winter, 
and  the  new  impetus  imparted  to  Jesuitical  intrigue 
by  the  deification  and  coronation  of  the  Virgin,  it  will 
require  the  vigilance  of  an  Argus  to  watch  our 
liberties  aud  our  institutions.  That  man  will  not 
have  lived  in  vain  who  shall  loosen  a  single  prop 
that  supports  this  consolidated  structure  of  supersti- 
tion and  sin,  whose  shadows  darken  our  land  like  the 
locusts  of  Egypt.  All  compromise  and  conciliation 
here  are  traitorous  to  the  truth.  The  attack  of  allied 
Protestantism  against  Rome  should  be  as  steady  and 
unhesitating  as  the  tread  of  the  "  noble  six  hundred," 


"quit  you  like  men."  241 

last  winter,  down  the  valley  of  Balaklava.  We  are 
now  in  the  heat  of  the  struggle  with  the  emissaries  of 
Antichrist,  and  that  man  is  a  coward  and  a  miscreant 
that  cries  hold  ! 

There  is  enough  to  be  done  in  our  day  to  engage 
a  thousand  hearts  and  employ  a  thousand  hands, 
if  a  man  had  them.  For  Heaven  and  humanity's 
sake,  brethren,  stand  not  in  or  around  the  vineyard 
idle  and  dreaming.  "  The  age  of  apathy  is  gone  " — 
gone,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  never  to  return.  Men  are  in 
earnest  now  in  all  they  do.  "  Whether  it  be  the 
manufacturing  of  a  pin  or  the  enlightening  of  a 
soul,"  they  enter  into  it  in  right  good  earnest.  If 
ever  there  was  a  time  since  the  creation-shout  of  the 
sons  of  God  went  up,  that  called  for  "  no  vulgar  con- 
ception of  things  and  for  exertions  in  no  vulgar  strain, 
it  is  the  awful  hour  in  which  Providence  has  appointed 
our  being." 

It  has  been  rny  privilege  and  pleasure,  too,  to  be 
in-timately  and  favorably  acquainted  with  nearly  all  of 
you.  I  have  no  fears — I  am  sure  no  fears  are  enter- 
tained— as  to  your  being  able  to  acquit  you  honorably 
as  men.  The  danger  is  that,  by  narrow  and  unjust 
ideas  of  your  mission,  you  will  wrap  yourselves  up  in 
some  secluded  and  contracted  sphere,  and  sleep  your 
lives  away  in  a  chrysalis  state.  Entertain,  I  implore 
you,  some  worthy  conception  of  yourselves  and  your 
influence.  Be  not  content  to  fulfil  in  society  the 
office  of  a  candle  in  a  chamber — to  light  up  a  little 
circle,  or  a  fireside — but  aspire,  oh,  yes  !  aspire  to  the 
sphere  and  functions  of  a  sun,  to  spread  light  and 
fertility  over  a  hemisphere.  There  is  no  topic  to 
which   I  advert   more  cheerfully,  or   dwell  upon  with 


242  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

more  zest,  than  that  of  individual  influence.  It  makes 
a  man  feel  better,  makes  him  prouder  of  his  species, 
to  think  of  what  individuals  (humble  ones,  too)  have 
done,  and  of  what  they  may  still  do.  It  reconciles  one 
very  much  to  the  labors,  hazards,  and  hardships  of 
this  hard,  hard  life.  Samuel  Mills  said  he  would 
make  his  influence  felt  by  half  the  globe.  He  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-six,  but  accomplished  all  he  said  he 
would.  We  may,  and  often  are,  indeed,  doing  most 
when  we  suspect  we  are  doing  the  least ;  when,  so  far 
as  we  ourselves  can  discern,  we  are  doing  nothing  at 
all.  The  skipping  of  a  grasshopper  moves  the  world  ; 
but  who  perceives  it  ?  There  is  no  cause  for  de- 
spondency, either.  Though  the  enemies  of  the  truth 
are  busy  and  bitter,  and  though  there  are  some 
things  that  appear  ominous  of  evil,  upon  the  whole, 
our  day  is  brighter  and  better  than  any  that  has  come 
and  gone  before  it.  Our  knowledge  of  the  issue 
should  nerve  our  arms  with  steel,  and  fill  our  hearts 
with  fire.  Final  success  is  sure.  Voltaire,  the  daring 
anti-theist,  swore  he  would  dethrone  God,  and  blas- 
phemously boasted  that  he  would  erase  the  name  of 
Christ  from  the  earth  ;  yet,  "  in  every  tongue  on  earth 
the  Gospel  has  its  music  and  glad  echo  "  to-night. 
Anti-theists  and  atheists  together — skeptics  and 
scoffers,  alike — are  doomed  to  an  inevitable  and  ter- 
rible overthrow.  Every  system  and  individual  that 
opposes  the  cross  will  fall,  and  in  that  fall,  like  the 
Apostate  Julian,  as  he  threw  his  life-blood  toward 
heaven,  ascribe  conquest  to  the  Galilean. 

At  the  battle  of  the  Pyramids,  as  Napoleon  threw 
his  infantry  into  squares  to  sustain  the  impetuous 
charge  of  Murad  Bey's  cavalry,   in  order  to  arouse 


"  QUIT    YOU    LIKE    MEN."  243 

their  heroism  he  shouted  to  his  soldiers  as  they  fell 
into  their  places  :  "  From  yonder  Pyramids  twenty 
centuries  look  down  upon  your  actions  ! "  From 
yonder  heavens,  my  brethren,  "  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  and  thousands  of  thousands" — look 
down  upon_)w^r  actions. 

Just  as  this  same  hero  had  made  his  dispositions  for 
another  great  and  decisive  battle,  his  eye  caught  the 
sun,  as  he  rose  in  his  strength  and  grandeur — 
"  Behold  the  sun  of  Austerlitz  !  "  broke  in  beauty  and 
sublimity  from  his  lips.  Lifting  our  eyes  away  to 
China,  Japan,  and  the  Isles  of  the  Sea,  we  can  give 
utterance  to  the  sublimer  expression.  Behold  the 
"Sun  of  Righteousness  "  ! 

Everything,  indeed,  invites  you  to  active,  decided, 
manly  effort.  Where  you  can  find  nothing  to  encour- 
age, you  can  always  find  something  to  excite  you. 

And  now,  brethren,  in  view  of  the  past,  the  present, 
and  the  future  ;  for  the  sake  of  the  dead,  the  living, 
and  the  unborn,  I  charge  you,  this  night — wherever 
you  go,  whatever  you  do,  whatever  you  be — in  the 
name  and  in  the  presence  of  God  Almighty,  I  charge 
you,  "Quit  yourselves  like  men." 


III. 

HOPE  FOR  THE  REPUBLIC. 


III. 

HOPE  FOR  THE  REPUBLIC* 

''Look  tipon  Zion,  the  city  of  our  solemnities  :  thine  eyes  shall 
see  Jerusalem  a  quiet  habitation,  a  tabernacle  that  shall  not  be 
taken  doiun  ;  not  one  of  the  stakes  thereof  shall  ever  be  removed, 
neither  shall  any  of  the  cords  thereof  be  broken. 

''But  there  the  glorious  Lord  will  be  unto  us  a  place  of  broad 
rivers  and  streams;  wherein  shall  go  no  galley  7vith  oars,  neither 
shall  gallant  ship  pass  thereby."— Is AiAB.  xxxiii.  20,  21. 

These  words  were  spoken  of  the  Jewish  nation 
when  it  was  threatened  with  dismemberment  and  de- 
struction by  Sennacherib,  the  Assyrian.  They  seem 
to  be  singularly  applicable  to  our  own  case  as  a 
nation. 

My  political  creed  is  very  brief  :  /  Mieve  in  the 
union  of  these  States. 

Shall  this  Union  be  preserved  or  shall  it  be  rudely 
torn  to  fragments  and  the  fragments  thrown  to  the 
dust?  This  is  beyond  all  comparison  the  most 
momentous  political  question  that  agitates  the  public 
mind  at  this  time.  In  the  presence  of  this,  all  others 
sink  into  insignificance.  If  the  Union  be  preserved, 
the  text  will  receive  a  second  glorious  fulfilment. 

What  reason,  then,  have  we  to  hope  that  this  will 
be  the  result  of  the  pending  struggle  ? 

*  Thanksgiving  Day,  November  26,  1863.  Repeated  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Christian  Commission,  in  Masonic  Hall,  Pittsburgh, 
Tuesday  night,  December  8,  1863. 


248  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

I  believe  in  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union  because  : 

I.  We  are  one  by  the  physical  structure  and  consti- 
tution of  the  country. 

By  the  fiat  of  creation  the  Almighty  has  ordained 
that  this  nation  be  one.  He  has  poured  the  floods  of 
ocean  around  it  in  the  form  of  a  U,  and  that  U  stands 
for  UNION.  Through  and  through  these  States  He 
has  driven  the  iron  bolts  of  mountain  ranges.  From 
north  to  south  He  has  stretched  the  throbbing  arte- 
ries of  the  nation's  life  ;  and  from  east  to  west  He 
has  spread  the  tissue  and  net-work  of  the  nation's 
blood-vessels.  So  long  as  the  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi flow  to  the  Gulf  the  Union  of  these  States  must 
be  preserved,  at  all  hazards,  at  any  cost,  at  all  sacrifices. 
By  virtue,  therefore,  of  our  national  life  and  by  the 
physical  geography  of  the  country,  we  are  one. 

Man,  in  his  physical  structure  and  constitution,  is 
scarcely  less  a  unit  than  this  land  is  a  unit.  The  head 
cannot  do  without  the  heart,  nor  the  heart  without 
the  head.  One  member  is  the  complement  of  the 
other,  and  it  is  only  when  all  unite  harmoniously  that 
the  body  is  complete,  strong,  and  healthy. 

So  it  is  with  this  country.  Sever  it,  disunite  it, 
dismember  it,  and  it  becomes  a  heap  of  incomplete 
fragments. 

Disjointed  wheels,  lying  apart,  do  not  constitute  a 
watch.  They  may  be  complete  and  perfect  in  them- 
selves ;  but  scattered  over  a  table  they  will  not  keep 
time.  From  mainspring  to  pointer,  everything  may 
be  in  perfect  order,  but  these  disunited  fractions  do 
not,  cannot  mark  the  passing  hours.  In  order  to  do 
this  there  must  be  union.  Wheel  must  act  upon  wheel, 
cog  must  fit  to  cog,  the  chain  must  be  stretched,  the 


HOPE    FOR    THK    REPUIUJC.  249 

spring  must  be  bent  ;  there  must  be  action,  re-action, 
inter-action,  and  counter-action.  Then  the  hands 
move,  then  it  keeps  time,  then  it  is  a  watch. 

Like  the  members  of  the  body,  like  the  wheels  of  a 
time-piece,  the  States  and  Territories  of  this  country 
are  parts  of  one  great  whole.  The  South  supplements 
the  North,  the  North  supplements  the  South,  and  the 
AVest  is  the  complement  of  both. 

The  old  world  may  shut  up  our  ports  ;  we  can  laugh 
a  blockade  to  scorn. 

We  have  within  ourselves  all  necessary  supplies  and 
resources. 

Let  any  man  take  the  map  and  examine  it  for  five 
minutes,  and  he  will  be  convinced,  beyond  the  power 
of  logic,  that  the  Almighty  Maker  of  the  world  in- 
tended this  land  for  one  great  people.  The  decree 
has  gone  forth  ;  it  is  proclaimed  aloud  and  afar  by 
the  voice  of  the  mountain  storm  ;  it  is  thundered 
forth  by  the  floods  of  the  Atlantic  ;  it  is  echoed  back 
by  the  billows  of  the  Pacific  ;  it  is  carried  by  the  Ohio 
to  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Mississippi  rolls  it  on  in 
thunder  tones  to  the  Gulf. 

The  decree  has  gone  forth.  It  is  written  in  char- 
acters as  enduring  as  the  everlasting  hills.  The 
letters  are  traced  in  ocean-beds,  in  river-courses,  and 
mountain- ranges.  It  has  thus  been  written  and  pro- 
mulged.  Who  will  believe  that  a  few  mad-cap  des- 
pots at  Charleston  and  Montgomery  can  repeal  it — 
can  annul  it  ? 

The  glorious  tabernacle  of  our  liberties  shall  not 
thus  be  torn  down.  "  Not  one  of  the  stakes  thereof 
shall  ever  be  removed  ;  neither  shall  any  of  the 
cords  thereof  be  broken." 


250         OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

If  this  generation  shall  be  so  dastardly  and  derelict 
to  duty  as  to  permit  the  dismemberment  of  the  nation, 
the  next  generation  will  rise  in  its  might  and  its 
wrath,  will  dash  to  atoms  every  obstacle  interposed 
between  the  different  sections,  will  gather  up  again 
the  dishonored  fragments,  and  with  the  richest  blood 
of  the  age  cement  them  into  one. 

But  I  do  not  believe  that  this  generation  will  leave 
to  the  next  so  glorious  a  consummation. 

Great  Britain  was  never  designed  by  the  Almighty 
for  a  heptarchy,  nor  France  for  a  partitioned  king- 
dom. The  physical  structure  of  these  countries 
demonstrates  this.  Great  Britain  and  France  were 
insignificant  powers  until  their  disintegrated  frag- 
ments came  together,  were  welded  into  one,  and  they 
stood  before  the  world  consolidated  kingdoms. 
Their  union  was  the  beginning  of  their  strength  and 
glory.  Our  dismemberment  would  be  the  end  of  our 
greatness  and  power.  All  over  "  the  dishonored 
fragments  of  this  once  glorious  Union,"  would  then 
be  written  in  hideous  characters:  "  Ichabod  !  Ichabod  ! 
the  glory  is  departed  I  " 

I  believe  in  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union,  because  : 

II.  The  people  of  this  nation  are  one. 

Not,  indeed,  in  speech,  nor  descent,  nor  taste,  nor 
temperament,  nor  habits,  nor  customs.  In  these 
respects  we  are  exceedingly  diverse.  We  are,  in  these 
respects  as  varied  as  Jacob's  ring-streaked,  speckled, 
and  spotted  kine. 

But,  nevertheless,  we  are  one  by  a  far  deeper  and 
mightier  principle  of  unity. 

A  common  impulse  peopled  these  shores  when  they 
were  an  unbroken,  howling  wilderness.     A  common 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  25 1 

sympathy  brought  the  colonists  to  this  land.  The 
Huguenots,  the  Puritans,  the  Dutch  from  Holland, 
the  Scotch-Irish  from  Londonderry,  had  a  common 
interest,  common  sufferings,  a  common  hope,  and  they 
sought  and  found  here  a  common  home.  Persecution 
and  oppression  drove  them  from  their  own  lands. 
They  left  all,  they  sacrificed  all  but  liberty.  On  these 
shores  they  sought  and  found  a  common  asylum. 
They  came  from  different  countries,  they  spake  dif- 
ferent languages,  their  customs  were  widely  different, 
but  their  hearts,  notwithstanding,  beat  in  unison  on 
the  subject  of  human  rights  and  religious  liberty. 
By  virtue  of  this  deep  and  tender  sympathy  they  were, 
and  their  descendants  are,  one. 

The  fact  that  so  many  noble,  self-sacrificing  men 
of  different  countries,  yet  bound  together  by  so 
powerful  a  bond  of  union,  were  thrown  on  these 
shores  at  the  same  time,  is  one  of  the  grandest  provi- 
dential phenomena  in  human  history.  God's  hand 
was  in  it.  Political  storms  shook  Europe.  The  tor- 
nado was  wild  and  fierce.  The  ripened,  mellow  fruit 
was  loosened  from  the  branches.  It  fell — at  Plymouth 
Rock  and  Manhattan  Island.  The  green,  the  gnarled, 
the  blighted  fruit  hung  on,  clung  to  the  branches. 

God  sifted  the  nations  of  Europe  ;  the  finest  of  the 
wheat  was  sown  in  American  soil.  The  chaff,  the 
cheat,  the  cockle,  and  the  tares  were  left  on  the  other 
side  of  the  ocean. 

All  through  our  history  this  unity  of  principle  and 
sympathy  is  manifest.  While  apparently  we  are  the 
most  heterogeneous  people  in  the  world,  we  are  really, 
on  the  great  and  vital  points,  the  most  homogeneous. 
The  diversities  among  us  seem  to  be   endless  ;  but 


252  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

touch  an}'  of  the  wide-spreading  chords  of  sympathy 
that  unite  us,  and  a  response  in  perfect  unison  peals 
forth.  How,  for  instance,  the  cannon-shot  that 
snapped  the  flag-staff  of  Sumter  brought  the  whole 
North  together  as  one  man,  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
hand  in  hand,  heart  to  heart ! 

There  was  the  grand  mistake  made  by  the  con- 
spirators. They  did  not  take  this  fact  into  account. 
They  saw  the  North  divided  and  wrangling  about 
minor  issues.  They  supposed  that  their  overt  treason 
would  rend  these  parties  hopelessly  asunder,  and  set 
us  to  cutting  each  other's  throats.  Their  view  was 
superficial  ;  they  did  not  look  deep  enough  ;  they  did 
not  go  down  to  those  deep-toned  chords — far  below 
the  casual  and  superficial  view — which  stretch  from 
heart  to  heart,  and  make  a  continent  of  freemen  one. 

Trees  in  the  forest  grow  apart ;  their  branches 
chafe  and  fret  each  other  ;  they  quarrel  and  wrestle  ; 
every  blast  brings  them  into  violent  contact  and  col- 
lision ;  but  down  out  of  sight,  below  the  surface,  their 
roots  interlink  and  intertwine  in  the  most  intimate 
and  inseparable  sympathy  and  fellowship.  So  it  is 
with  us.  At  wide  variance  on  a  thousand  minor 
issues,  we  are  as  one  on  the  great  root  principles. 
Below  the  surface  our  sympathies  intertwine. 

That  this  is  the  fact  the  history  of  the  rebellion 
demonstrates.  No  other  government  on  earth  could 
stand  such  a  shock  as  ours  has  stood.  Its  strength, 
its  bulwarks  are  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  True, 
we  have  lamentable  dissensions,  but  the  wonder  is 
that  every  State  has  not  been  rent  with  internecine 
war. 

How  grandly  the  old  ship  rights  herself  and  climbs 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  253 

the  waves  !  She  is  no  "  painted  ship  upon  a  painted 
ocean."  She  has  not  only  the  form  but  the  power. 
Her  timbers  are  sound,  every  one  of  them  ;  she  is  sea- 
worthy if  ever  ship  was  ;  stick  to  her — she  will  ride 
the  storm. 

The  South,  it  is  true,  listening  to  the  counsels  of 
her  Catilines,  has  been  precipitated  into  revolution  ; 
but  even  in  these  rebellious  States,  if  the  hearts  of  the 
people  could  be  reached,  these  chords  of  universal 
sympathy  would  be  touched  and  would  respond.  Al- 
ready they  begin  to  vibrate  in  North  Carolina,  Texas, 
and  Tennessee. 

This  rebellion,  therefore,  is  not  a  natural  out- 
growth of  our  national  life.  It  is  not  American.  It 
is  a  vile  fungus  on  the  body  politic.  It  comes  from 
disease — disease  brought  on  by  the  poison  of  slavery 
that  in  an  evil  hour  was  injected  into  the  national 
blood.  Slavery  is  an  unnatural  element.  This  land 
was  not  peopled  that  it  might  become  a  prison-house 
in  which  human  beings  should  grind  in  servitude,  but 
that  it  might  be  an  asylum  for  the  down-trodden  and 
oppressed  the  world  over.  The  government  was  not 
founded  for  slavery.  The  constitution  was  not  made 
for  it.  It  is  an  unnatural  element  that  has  been 
foisted  into  our  political  system.  It  gained  its  im- 
portance through  the  power  of  filthy  lucre.  It  was 
conceded  on  all  hands  to  be  wrong,  until  it  became 
profitable.  If  it  ever  had  any  claim  to  sympathy 
or  protection,  it  has  lost  every  shadow  of  it  by  the 
rebellion. 

The  consequence  of  this  poisonous  foreign  element 
in  the  system  has  been  fever,  delirium,  and  this  foul 
boil  and  tumor  on  the  body.     It  no  more  comes  from 


254  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  natural,  healthy  iVmerican  life,  than  small-pox  or 
leprosy  comes  from  the  pure  blood  that  God  poured 
into  the  veins  of  Adam  when  he  became  a  living  soul. 
It  is  a  disgusting  fungus,  a  loathsome  excrescence 
that  has  been  produced  by  a  virulent  poison  intro- 
duced into  the  system. 

But  it  will  not  be  fatal.  There  is  vigor  enough  in 
the  system  to  purify  itself — to  fling  off  the  disease  as 
the  ocean  billow  tosses  the  feathery  spray  from  its 
crest.  Besides,  skillful  surgeons  are  at  work  on  it. 
They  will  cut  the  vile  excrescence  away.  Grant  has 
just  made  a  terrible  incision. 

The  rebellion  is  only  a  fitful,  unnatural  exhibition 
of  disease.  This  will  be  thrown  off.  Health  will  be 
restored  and  not  even  a  scar  left.  Then  from  the 
Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
the  life-blood  of  the  nation  will  flow  again,  pure  and 
free,  and  as  true  to  the  Union  as  is  the  pulse-beat  of  a 
healthy  man  to  his  heart. 

The  overwhelming  sentiment  of  the  people  is  :  The 
Union,  it  must  and  shall  be  preserved. 

We  could  not  have  this  sentiment  unless  there  was 
something  for  it  to  rest  upon.  That  basis  is  the  fact 
already  mentioned,  viz.:  That  on  all  the  great  root 
principles  that  underlie  republican  institutions,  the 
people  are  one.  Feeling  thus,  and  bound  together  by 
sympathies  so  deep  and  comprehensive  and  wide- 
spreading  and  far-reaching,  they  will  not  allow  a  few 
— a  despicable  minority  of  despots — to  overthrow  these 
institutions. 

They  will  keep  the  starry  banner  aloft  and  afloat. 
They  will  not  let  the  tabernacle  be  torn  down.  They 
will  fix  every  stake  firmly  in  its  place.*    They  will   see 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  255 

to  it  that  not  a  single  strand  of  a  single  cord  be 
broken. 

I  believe  in  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union  and  govern- 
ment because  : 

III.  This  perpetuity  will  be  conducive  to  freedom 
and  human  progress. 

This  proposition  can  be  doubted  only  by  one  who  is 
totally  blinded  by  prejudice  or  who  is  utterly  ignorant 
of  the  issues  involved.  The  rebels  do  not  doubt  it. 
They  fight  with  this  understanding.  They  want 
neither  freedom  nor  general  intelligence.  Slavery 
and  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  cannot  dwell 
together.  Slavery  dreads  the  spirit  of  the  North 
quite  as  much  or  even  more  than  it  dreads  the  bayo- 
nets and  columbiads  of  the  North.  The  South  at- 
tempts to  found  a  mighty  empire,  the  "  corner  stone  " 
of  which  is  Human  Bondage.  The  North  inscribes 
Universal  Freedom  on  her  banner,  and  flings  it  to 
the  breeze.  While  He  who  came  into  this  world  "  to 
proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives  "  sits  on  the  throne 
of  the  universe,  who  can  for  one  moment  doubt  the 
issue  ? 

There  never  was  a  contest  more  clearly  and  sharply 
defined.  The  struggle  is  between  liberty  and  oppres- 
sion ;  between  democracy  and  aristocracy  ;  between 
republicanism  and  tyranny.  If  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy, with  its  present  constitution,  succeed,  back 
goes  the  sun  on  the  world's  dial  twelve  degrees. 
Shall  this  be? 

Ever  since  Christianity  entered  as  a  factor  into 
human  history,  ever  since  she  taught  the  true  dignity 
and  worth  of  man,  liberal  ideas  have  been  gaining 
ground.     True,    there    have    been    long   and    dismal 


256  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

nights  of  gloom  ,  but,  on  the  whole,  freedom  has  been 
on  the  advance. 

Every  man  is  now  considered  worth  educating. 
No  life  is  so  mean  that  it  is  not  worth  caring  for. 
We  are  too  often  disposed  to  croak,  to  think  and 
sometimes  to  say  that  we  are  going  backward  ;  but 
our  civilization,  with  all  its  faults,  is  vastly  in  advance 
of  Greece  and  Rome,  where  the  people  went  in 
crowds  for  entertainment  to  the  amphitheatre,  which 
flowed  ankle-deep  in  human  blood.  The  world  does 
move,  has  moved,  is  moving.  Our  croaking  can  no 
more  stop  it  than  the  Papal  Bull  could  stop  the 
sweeping  comet  in  its  fiery  course. 

When  we  are  in  a  railroad  car  it  seems  to  us  the 
trees  and  fences,  houses  and  fields  are  all  flying, 
whirling  backward.  They  seem  to  go  backward  be- 
cause we  are  going  so  rapidly  forward.  So  we  some- 
times think  that  the  world  is  going  backward  because 
we  are  going  with  such  velocity  forward. 

Man  used  to  be  held  cheap  ;  his  price  has  greatly 
advanced  and  is  still  going  up.  Christianity,  educa- 
tion, general  intelligence  and  free  institutions  have 
wrought  the  change.  They  put  man's  value  up  and 
keep  it  buoyant  :  and  all  the  emissaries  Satan  can 
hire,  in  the  shape  of  kidnapper,  or  slave-trader,  or 
slavery  propagandist,  cannot  bring  about  a  depression. 
In  the  price  current  of  the  world,  humanity  has  gone 
up  to  a  high  figure,  and  it  will  go  much  higher  yet. 

We  hear  much,  indeed,  of  the  low  value  set  upon 
human  life.  This  is  a  lamentable  evil  ;  but  it  is  felt 
keenly  now,  not  because  it  is  greater  than  formerly, 
but  because  our  appreciation  of  human  life  is  better. 

In  Rome — refined,  elegant  Rome — men  by  the  thou- 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  257 

sand  were  turned  into  the  amphitheatre  along  with 
wild  beasts  to  die,  that  b}^  their  expiring  agonies  they 
might  cater  to  the  morbid  taste  and  curiosity  of  Latin 
ladies  and  their  dissolute  lovers.  Would  our  civiliza- 
tion tolerate  such  exhibitions  now? 

In  the  Dark  Ages,  if  a  man  dared  to  think  for  him- 
self, he  was  consigned  to  the  dungeons  and  the  racks 
of  the  Inquisition.  That  was  the  last  heard  of  him. 
What  matter  !  It  was  only  a  heretic  !  The  Inquisi- 
tion could  not  live  twenty-four  hours  in  America. 

In  England  they  used  to  hang  a  man  for  stealing  a 
sheep.  It  was  on  the  principle,  I  suppose,  of  a  life 
for  a  life  ;  and  they  put  the  sheep's  life  on  a  par  with 
the  man's  life. 

Frederick  the  Great  regarded  a  man  as  worthless 
unless  he  was  six  feet  high  and  built  in  proportion, 
that  he  might  stand  on  a  level  in  the  ranks  of  his 
gigantic  grenadiers.  "  Military  offences,"  says  Ma- 
caulay,  "  were  punished  with  such  barbarous  scourg- 
ing that  to  be  shot  was  considered  by  the  Prussian 
soldier  a  secondary  punishment."  By  Frederick 
man  was  valued  as  a  fighting  machine. 

But  now  humanity  is  valued  for  its  inherent  worth 
and  dignity.  A  man  is  not  estimated  on  account  of 
his  wealth  or  his  rank,  but  on  account  of  God's  image 
which  he  bears,  and  the  God-given  endowments  he  pos- 
sesses. The  value  yet  is  far  too  low,  but  it  is  much 
higher  than  ever  it  was  before.  Every  hospital,  every 
asylum,  home,  and  refuge  bears  testimony  to  the  same 
fact.  Thus  Christianity  and  intelligence  are  elevat- 
ing men — bringing  them  up  from  the  depths  and  mak- 
ing each  man  a  sovereign.  No  slavery,  no  system 
of  oppression  ever  instituted  can  resist  this  uplifting, 


258  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

on-moving  force,  but  will  die  under  it  as  certainly  as 
the  snowflake  and  icicle  melt  in  the  spring. 

Already  this  force  has  emancipated  England's 
slaves,  and  has  struck  the  shackles  from  the  limbs  of 
Russia's  serfs. 

When  Christianity  was  introduced  into  the  world, 
slavery  was  universal.  The  number  of  slaves  was 
prodigious.  Some  Roman  citizens  owned  as  many  as 
twenty  thousand  at  once.  This  was  slavery,  too,  in 
its  most  revolting  and  horrid  form.  A  slave's  life 
was  held  cheaper  than  a  dog's  life.  Under  the  silent 
but  mighty  influence  of  Christianity,  the  system  began 
to  die  out,  and  under  that  influence  the  decline  has 
been  gradually  going  on  ever  since.  The  charge 
that  Christianity  has  favored  slavery  is  not  true. 
Did  time  permit,  I  could  show  how  Christianity  has 
abolished  slavery.  Let  Christianity,  a  free  press,  and 
free  speech  have  a  fair  field,  and  there  will  be  no 
slave  in  America  in  fifty  years.  This  the  slaveholders 
very  well  know. 

Now  I  ask,  if  these  ideas,  if  this  upward  and  onward 
movement  that  has  been  gaining  strength  for  nearly 
nineteen  centuries,  are  to  be  arrested  and  turned  back 
by  a  nest  of  conspirators  hatched  at  Charleston  ?  As 
soon  would  I  believe  that  the  bickerings  of  a  brood  of 
swallows  on  the  eaves  of  a  barn  could  stop  the  sun  in 
the  heavens.  The  conspirators  may  embarrass  and 
check  the  movement  somewhat  for  a  time,  but  that 
they  will  succeed  in  turning  back  the  mighty  current 
of  popular  thought  and  feeling,  I  can  no  more  believe 
than  I  can  believe  that  the  snowy  arm  of  the  Alpine 
maiden  can  stop  the  avalanche  in  its  leap  and  its  bound 
from  its  mountain  home. 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  259 

The  chariot  moves ;  God  is  the  charioteer.  Clear 
the  track  !  Woe  to  the  man  who  stands  in  the  way  ! 
He  will  be  ground  to  powder,  and  all  of  him  that  will 
go  down  to  posterity  will  be  his  dust  and  the  immor- 
tality of  his  infamy. 

IV.  The  past  history,  the  present  and  the  future 
prospects  of  the  war,  afford  a  good  assurance  that  the 
tabernacle  of  our  liberties  shall  not  be  taken  down. 

All  things  considered,  our  success  has  been  amaz- 
ing. President  Lincoln  expressed  a  great  truth  in 
homely  phrase,  when  he  said  that  the  suppression  of 
the  rebellion  was  "a  big  job."  It  is  not  the  work  of 
a  day  nor  a  year.  We  must  not  be  impatient.  We 
have  had  great  success  ;  no  rebel  pitches  his  tent  on 
free  soil  to-day.  With  Gettysburg  before  his  eyes, 
the  enemy  will  not  try  invasion  soon  again.  Not  only 
have  we  defended  our  immense  border,  but  our  armies 
are  in  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy.  Suppose  the 
tables  were  turned,  and  that  the  enemy  had  driven  us 
as  far  back  as  we  have  forced  him,  the  faint-hearted 
among  us  would  begin  to  think  of  taking  refuge  in 
Canada. 

The  interpositions  of  Providence  in  our  behalf  have 
been  wonderful.  None  but  a  downright  atheist  can 
doubt  them.  When  the  traitors  had  the  power  com- 
pletely in  their  own  hands,  why  did  they  not  stab  the 
republic  to  the  heart  ?  They  attempted  it  ;  the  hand 
was  raised  but  the  blow  was  arrested,  no  one  knows 
how.  The  historian  who  leaves  special  providences 
out  of  his  account,  will  never  write  correctly  the 
history  of  the  momentous  weeks  which  closed  the  last 
Administration.  Providentially  the  President  was 
delivered  from  the  assassins  of  Baltimore.     General 


26o  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Anderson  told  me  that  when  he  and  his  little  band 
passed  from  Moultrie  to  Sumter,  the  shadows  of  the 
night  fell  in  such  a  way  as  to  conceal  them  entirely 
from  the  view  of  the  rebels.  They  passed  undis- 
covered, although  they  were  narrowly  watched.  The 
Monitor  arrived  just  at  the  nick  of  time  to  meet  the 
Merriviac  and  drive  her  back  to  her  rebel  den.  Buell 
arrived  at  Shiloh  in  time  to  turn  the  fortunes  of  the 
day  ;  he  was  to  Grant  what  Blucher  was  to  Welling- 
ton. All  through  the  struggle  such  providences  are 
observable. 

In  this  connection  the  prosperity  of  the  North 
ought  to  be  mentioned.  This  has  been  contrary  to 
all  the  predictions  of  enemies,  and  contrary,  indeed, 
to  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  friends.  According  to 
the  traitors,  cows  were  to  graze  in  Broadway  and 
Chestnut  Street  three  months  after  the  war  began. 
Pittsburgh  was  to  be  as  still  as  a  cemetery.  There 
was  to  be  nothing  in  the  North  but  bankruptcy  and 
bread  riots  ;  yet  never  was  there  such  prosperity. 

This,  by  some,  may  be  attributed  to  second  causes, 
but  these  second  causes  would  be  utterly  inefficient  if 
they  were  not  directed  and  controlled  by  the  great 
First  Cause. 

This  prosperity,  amidst  so  gigantic  an  intestine  war, 
is  a  fact  unparalleled  in  history.  Nor  has  it  been  with- 
out its  effect.  It  has  given  other  nations  a  concep- 
tion of  our  resources  such  as  they  never  had  before. 
Europe  stands  aghast.  When  the  war  began,  she 
locked  her  coffers,  put  a  hard  knot  on  her  purse- 
strings,  turned  up  her  supercilious  nose,  and  said  : 
"You  can't  have  my  money  to  carry  on  the  war." 
The  war  has  been  carried  on  without  her  money,  and 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  261 

now  she  begs  to  have  the  exquisite  pleasure  of  lend- 
ing us  a  few  millions  sterling.  It  is  now  Brother 
Jonathan's  turn  to  be  supercilious.  He  coolly  thrusts 
his  hands  into  his  capacious  pockets,  and  says  :  ''No, 
thankee!''  Europe  begins  to  respect  our  financial 
resources. 

She  begins,  too,  to  have  a  profound  respect  for  our 
army  and  navy.  When  Russell,  the  correspondent  of 
the  London  Times,  was  in  this  country  he  was  never 
done  threatening  us  with  Admiral  Milne's  fleet.  If 
Mr.  Seward  did  not  speak  more  respectfully  of  Eng- 
land, the  fleet  would  come  down  and  knock  Washing- 
ton about  his  ears,  some  morning  before  he  was  up. 
If  Mason  and  Slidell  were  not  surrendered  forthwith, 
Milne  would  weigh  anchor  and  drop  down  along  our 
coast,  when  our  blockading  fleet  would  disappear  as 
snow  in  harvest.  But  now,  so  far  as  Great  Britain  is 
concerned,  we  should  not  know  that  such  an  institu- 
tion as  Milne's  squadron  existed  on  the  face  of  the 
earth. 

Suppose  this  terrible  fleet  should  weigh  anchor,  who 
is  so  poor  as  to  do  it  reverence  ?  We  would  send  out 
a  little  iron-clad  after  the  whole  batch  as  a  farmer 
calls  out  his  little  terrier  and  sets  him  on  a  flock  of 
sheep  in  his  lane. 

It  is  this  development  of  power  that  has  modified 
the  course  of  Great  Britain  toward  us.  In  strength 
is  our  safety.  If  we  show  the  white  feather  every 
jackdaw  will  begin  to  peck  at  us  ;  every  second-rate 
cock  on  the  European  dunghill  will  begin  to  strut 
and  crow  and  whet  his  spurs.  Europe  must  be  taught 
to  let  us  alone. 

I  detest  Russia  ;  from  the  depths  of  my  heart  I 


262  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

sympathize  with  Poland.  Yet,  notwithstanding,  if 
England  and  France  conspire  against  us,  I  would 
strike  hands  with  the  Czar,  as  a  diplomatic  measure. 
I  would  fraternize  with  the  Polar  bear,  even,  against 
any  and  all  who  will  make  alliances  with  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  Rather  than  yield  one  jot  or  tittle  of 
the  principle  involved,  viz.,  the  integrity  of  the 
Union,  and  the  right  to  manage  our  own  affairs,  let 
Europe  and  the  whole  world  be  wrapped  in  the  flames 
of  war.  On  other  heads  than  ours  will  rest  the  re- 
sponsibility. 

Not  only  has  our  prosperity  thus  falsified  all  mali- 
cious predictions  and  opened  the  eyes  of  Europe,  but 
it  has  also  dethroned  forever  cotton  as  king.  The 
king  is  off  his  throne,  and  the  throne  has  gone  to 
pieces  and  to  the  dust,  never  again  to  be  set  up. 
Cotton  is  deposed  ;  Corn  and  Iron  are  supreme. 

The  past  history  of  the  war  has  accomplished 
another  thing :  it  has  vindicated  Northern  courage 
and  manliness.  These  could  not  be  vindicated  under 
the  "  code,"  but  they  have  been  gloriously  vindicated  in 
the  line  of  battle,  in  the  impetuous  charge,  at  the  can- 
non's mouth,  on  parapet  and  wall. 

When  this  war  began,  to  hear  rebels  talk  one 
would  have  supposed  that  every  man  in  the  Con- 
federacy would  have  gone  to  the  bottom  of  the  last 
ditch  rather  than  strike  a  single  color ;  rather  than 
relinquish  a  single  gun ;  rather  than  surrender  a 
single  prisoner  of  war.  Yet  the  Confederate  flag  has 
gone  to  the  dust  eleven  times  at  the  bidding  of  the 
Stars  and  Stripes.  One  man  alone  has  taken  from 
them  472  guns,  and  has  captured  of  their  soldiers 
90,000  prisoners  of  war.     I  need  not  tell  you  who 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  263 

that  man  is,  for  I  am  sure  that  already,  in  your  hearts 
at  least,  if  not  on  your  lips,  is  the  name  of  Uncon- 
ditional   Surrender   Grant. 

The  most  bigoted  Southerner  admits  now  that 
Yankees  will  fight.  Donelson,  Vicksburg,  Antietam, 
Gettysburg,  Lookout  Mountain,  Missionary  Ridge 
are  ugly  facts  to  reconcile  with  the  theory  that  there 
is  nothing  but  poltroonery  in  the  North. 

Greater  heroism  has  not  been  displayed  since  the 
world  began  than  has  been  displayed  by  the  Northern 
army  in  the  war  for  the  Union.  The  glory  of  Sparta 
pales  before  the  splendor  of  its  prowess.  This  sounds 
like  mere  fustian,  but  it  is  sober  truth.  At  Lookout 
Mountain  our  men  charged  the  enemy  above  the 
clouds.  Through  the  clouds  and  above  them  they 
swept  upward  with  fiercer  impetuosity  than  the  storm 
sweeps  downward.  They  fought  with  the  clouds  be- 
neath their  feet.  The  roar  of  their  musketry  was 
above  the  home  of  the  thunder.  Who  dare  say  now 
that  Northern  men  will  not  fight  ? 

Thus  the  two  topics  which  for  twenty  years  have 
supplied  the  staple  of  Southern  eloquence  in  Congress, 
and  out  of  it,  are  exploded.  Cotton  is  not  king. 
Northern  men  are  not  cowards.  What  will  the  sen- 
ators at  Richmond  find  to  talk  about  this  winter  ? 

From  the  past,  then,  we  draw  encouragement ;  and 
while  the  present  is  big  with  interest  and  fearful 
issues,  nevertheless  the  heavens  above  us  to-day  have 
more  clear  sky  than  clouds.  With  Grant,  Sherman, 
Thomas,  and  Foster  in  Tennessee  ;  Banks  in  Texas  ; 
Gilmore  thundering  at  the  gates  of  Charleston  ;  But- 
ler at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  Meade  on  the  Rapidan, 
we  can,  at  least,  rest  in  hope. 


264  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Grant  is  Lincoln's  thunderbolt.  He  launched  it, 
and  Vicksburg  was  smitten  to  the  dust.  It  is 
launched  again — it  gleams  along  Lookout  Mountain, 
it  scales  the  crest  of  Missionary  Ridge,  and  the 
*'  Bragg  "  is  knocked  out  of  the  Confederacy. 

We  cannot  fathom  the  Divine  purposes,  but  the 
doings  of  God  in  the  past  shed  light  on  these  pur- 
poses. If  God  has  designed  that  but  one  nation  shall 
inhabit  this  land,  then  the  Union  will  be  preserved. 

May  we  not  infer  such  a  design  from  the  physical 
structure  of  the  country  ?  It  is  a  large  land,  but  not 
large  enough  for  two  nations  to  dwell  in.  God  has 
given  us  "  broad  rivers  and  streams,"  but  they  are  not 
to  be  ploughed  by  war-ships,  as  that  is  the  meaning  of 
*' galley  with  oars  "  and  "  gallant  ship,"  in  the  text. 

The  same  design  may  be  inferred  from  the  one- 
ness of  the  people  who  settled  these  shores,  and  from 
the  fact  that  God,  in  his  providence,  and  in  his  Word, 
is  on  the  side  of  the  oppressed  ;  and  also  from  the 
fact  that  he  has  been  most  gracious  unto  us  in  the 
gifts  of  his  bounty,  and  in  special  interpositions  in 
our  behalf. 

When  the  Jew  wanted  to  assure  himself  of  God's 
continued  favor  and  protection,  he  ran  his  eye  back 
over  the  history  of  his  nation,  from  the  overthrow 
of  Pharaoh  to  the  destruction  of  Og,  king  of  Bashan. 
The  past  was  glorious  and  full  of  miraculous  power. 
Doubt  fled.  With  hope  and  joy  he  flung  his  glance 
into  the  future. 

So  do  we  to-day.  God  has  not  piloted  the  ship  of 
state  through  so  many  storms,  and  over  so  many 
breakers,  to  allow  her  to  be  sunk  by  the  snag, 
secession. 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  265 

Then  let  the  hurricane  roar, 
It  will  the  sooner  be  o'er  ; 
We'll  weather  the  blast. 
And  we'll  land  at  last, 
Safe  on  the  ever-free  shore. 

"  Then  thine  eyes  shall  see  Jerusalem  a  quiet  habita- 
tion, a  tabernacle  that  shall  not  be  taken  down  ;  not 
one  of  the  stakes  thereof  shall  ever  be  removed, 
neither  shall  any  of  the  cords  thereof  be  broken. 

"  But  the  glorious  Lord  will  be  to  us  a  place  of  broad 
rivers  and  streams  ;  wherein  shall  go  no  galley  with 
oars,  neither  shall  gallant  ship  pass  thereby." 

Faith,  patience,  endurance,  are  the  requisites  of  the 
crisis.  Great  ideas  develop  slowly.  Great  sacrifices 
are  the  price  of  great  blessings. 

Greece  rose,  fought,  struggled,  died,  and  left  as  her 
legacy  to  the  world  heroism  of  character  and  beauty 
in  language  and  art.  That  is  the  residuum  of  her 
wonderful  history. 

Rome  rose,  fought,  struggled,  died,  and  left  to  the 
world  as  her  legacy  the  majesty  and  supremacy  of 
law.  May  our  legacy  be  republican  institutions, 
based  on  Christian  morality  and  intelligence  ! 

Great  blessings  are  to  be  had  only  at  great  expense. 
All  the  martyrs  died  for  religious  liberty.  They 
were  a  mighty  host.  It  was  a  fearful  price,  but  the 
issue  was  worth  it  all. 

The  Crusades  desolated  Europe  and  Asia,  sunk 
untold  treasures,  and  sent  millions  of  men  to  the 
grave,  and  after  all  failed  in  their  object ;  but  they 
gave  the  death-blow  to  feudalism,  and  in  this  they 
were  worth  all  they  cost. 

Thus  the  world  rnoves.     The  commonest  rights  we 


266  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

enjoy  have  cost  blood  enough  to  fill  the  channel  of 
the  Ohio,  from  bank  to  bank,  with  a  crimson  tide. 

If  we  expect  to  enjoy  the  precious  blessings  of  this 
government,  and  transmit  them  unimpaired  to  our 
children,  we  must  be  willing  to  pay  the  price.  Rivers 
of  oil,  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills,  are  not  suffi- 
cient.    The  best  blood  of  the  nation  must  be  given. 

Now  it  only  remains  to  exhort  everyone  to  be  true 
to  his  country.  Be  turned  aside  by  no  sophistries 
of  demagogues.  Be  warped  by  no  partisan  preju- 
dices. Stand  straight  and  firm  by  the  flag-staff  from 
the  top  of  which  stream  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

When  a  man  sees  a  ruffian  strike  his  mother  in  the 
face,  it  is  no  time  for  him  to  consult  Paley  on  a  point 
of  morality.  God  has  given  him  an  arm,  has  poured 
into  it  the  blood  of  manhood,  and  so  long  as  one  drop 
of  that  blood  remains  his  duty  is  clear. 

That  patriotism  is  cold,  to  say  the  least,  which,  after 
it  has  seen  the  flag  of  the  Republic  torn  with  rebel 
shot,  can  sit  down  to  discuss  nice  metaphysical  dis- 
tinctions in  constitutional  law  ;  or  which,  worse  still, 
can  enter  into  calculations  on  the  probabilities  of  the 
success  of  each  party,  that  it  may  be  certain  to  be  on 
the  winning  side  ;  or  which,  worst  of  all,  balances 
itself  with  all  the  skill  of  Theramenes  between  the  two 
parties. 

Patriotism  is  instinctive.  There  is  a  story  told  of 
old  King  x\bgarus,  who  came  from  the  far  East,  from 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  whence  the  patriarch  Abraham 
came.  He  brought  wild  beasts  of  various  countries 
to  Rome,  and  let  them  loose  in  the  amphitheatre  in  the 
presence  of  Augustus.  As  soon  as  they  were  loose, 
the  beasts  ran,  leaping,  bounding,  each  one  to  that 


HOPE    FOR    THE    REPUBLIC.  267 

part  of  the  Circus  where  had  been  laid  a  Httle  of 
its  native  soil.     Its  heart  took  it  to  the  spot. 

Man  by  instinct  ought  to  love  his  country.  A 
patriotism  that  can  with  stoical  indifference  see  the 
old  flag  trampled  in  the  mire  by  traitorous  feet  is  not 
the  kind  for  these  times.  Rather  give  us  a  manhood 
which,  when  it  sees  tender  motherhood  reeling  beneath 
the  murderous  blow  of  a  ruffian,  will  spring  to  its 
feet,  and  cry  :  "  Villain  !  that  is  my  mother,  and  while 
this  heart  sends  a  drop  of  blood  to  this  right  arm  I 
will  protect  and  defend  her !  "  Give  us  rather  a 
patriotism  which  when  it  sees  perjured,  blood-stained 
hands  clutching  at  the  flag,  to  tear  Stripe  from  Stripe, 
and  pluck  Star  from  Star,  will  rush  to  arms,  as  a  lion 
leaps  from  his  lair,  and  cry  :  "  Hands  off !  ye  traitorous 
horde  !  Hands  off  !  while  a  spark  of  manhood  lives 
that  flag  will  be  defended!  The  last  loyal  heart  will  be 
flung  between  it  and  violence!  Through  that  heart  ye 
will  have  to  strike  before  ye  can  touch  its  sacred  folds ! " 

Citizen  patriots  !  stand  by  the  colors  I  through 
good  and  through  evil  report — in  sunshine  and  in 
storm — come  weal,  come  woe,  stand  by  the  colors  ! 
Uplift  and  uphold  the  tabernacle  of  our  liberties  ! 
Strengthen  its  stakes,  lengthen  its  cords  !  Then  when 
you  are  gone — when  Jerusalem  is  a  quiet  habitation — 
when  every  stake  has  gone  down  to  its  place  thence 
to  be  removed  nevermore,  when  every  cord  has  become 
stronger  than  triple  brass  ;  when  on  all  our  broad  rivers 
and  streams  there  go  nothing  but  the  ships  of  a  peace- 
ful,  prosperous  commerce,  then  will  your  children, 
pride  elating  their  countenances  as  they  speak,  rise  up 
and  say :  "  My  father  never  moved  lip  nor  finger  against 
his  country  in  the  hour  of  her  crisis  and  her  trial." 


IV. 
THE  THIEF  ON  THE  CROSS. 


IV. 
THE  THIEF  ON  THE  CROSS. 

"'■And  he  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,  remefuber  me,  zvhen  thou  comest 
into  thy  kingdom. 

''  And  Jesus  said  tinto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  To-day  shalt 
thou  be  with  me  in  paradise" — Luke  xxiii.  42,  43. 

No  passage  perhaps  in  all  the  Bible  reveals  more 
vividly  the  power  of  the  Gospel  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most than  does  this  one.  God's  grace  descends  to 
the  very  bottom  of  human  degradation  and  rescues 
the  vilest  and  the  lowest.  The  passage  reveals  not 
only  the  depths  to  which  the  Gospel  goes  in  order  to 
save,  but  also  the  heights  to  which  it  exalts  those  it 
thus  saves.  It  gives  us  the  soundings,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  altitude  of  redemption.  It  shows  to 
us  the  Gospel  thrusting  its  arms  of  love  to  the  pro- 
foundest  abysses  of  sin,  grappling  the  most  abandoned 
spirit  there,  and  raising  it  to  a  citizenship  in  heaven 
and  a  companionship  with  Christ.  It  also  reveals 
very  clearly  justification  by  faith.  If  salvation  were 
not  all  of  grace  the  hope  of  the  best  men  would  go 
out  in  the  darkness  of  despair.  If  salvation  were  not 
thus  of  grace  the  hypocrite  and  Pharisee  might  hope, 
but  the  good  man  never.  This  little  piece  of  sacred 
history  is  worth  whole  libraries  on  justification  by 
faith  alone.  If  men  are  not  justified  by  faith,  but 
by  works,  the  thief  would  have  been  in  perdition  that 
day  instead  of  in  Paradise. 


272  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

I  invite  you,  my  hearers,  to  spend  this  morning 
with  me  on  Calvary.  We  could  not  be  in  a  better 
place. 

It  is  a  spring  morning.  The  birds  are  abroad  and 
the  flowers  are  in  bloom,  but  the  scene  on  the  top  of 
the  hill  Calvary  ill  comports  with  the  peace  of  spring. 
The  Son  of  God  is  on  the  cross — under  the  curse  of 
the  law — in  the  company  of  malefactors  and  thieves — 
exposed  to  the  gaze  and  insults  of  the  rabble.  The 
hill  is  covered  with  his  persecutors,  who  mock  and 
taunt  him.  The  executioners  have  finished  their 
task,  and  have  nothing  to  do  but  sit  down  and  watch 
their  victims.  Thus  watching  they  while  away  the 
time  (as  time,  alas !  is  too  often  whiled  away)  by 
gambling.  There  is  one  piece  of  the  Saviour's 
apparel  that  is  beautiful  and  valuable.  "  This  coat 
was  without  seam,  woven  from  the  top  throughout." 
Tradition  says  it  was  a  present  from  his  mother.  She 
had  wrought  it  with  great  care,  and  with  a  kindness  and 
yearning  tenderness  which  none  but  a  mother  feels 
she  had  given  it  to  her  Divine  Son.  For  this  the 
soldiers  were  now  contesting,  unconscious  that  its 
owner  was  paying  the  penalty  of  their  sins.  "  They 
parted  my  garments  among  them  and  upon  my  ves- 
ture did  they  cast  lots."  While  they  were  thus  em- 
ployed, the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  reviling,  the  crowd 
insulting,  and  one  of  the  thieves  reproaching  him,  the 
dialogue  between  the  Saviour  and  the  other  thief  took 
place. 

The  world  is  seldom  aware  of  the  existence  of  its 
greatest  benefactors,  and  likewise  knows  little  about, 
or  cares  little  for,  the  events  that  conduce  most  to  its 
welfare.     France  gives  birth  to  a  young  usurper  who 


THE    THIEB'    ON    THE    CROSS.  273 

is  to  crush  the  Hfe  out  of  human  liberty,  and  yet  the 
event  is  heralded  from  Paris  to  Cathay  ;  but  when 
the  Son  of  God  and  Redeemer  of  the  human  family 
was  born,  few  in  the  world  were  any  the  wiser  for  it. 
The  event  created  no  excitement  in  the  little  village 
of  Bethlehem.  A  warrior  dies.  His  death  stanches 
the  blood  that  is  streaming  from  a  thousand  hearts. 
His  death  is  deplored.  The  press  issues  its  sheets  in 
mourning,  bells  chime  solemnl}^,  and  business  stands 
awe-struck  and  still  ;  but  the  Son  of  God,  the  King  of 
kings,  the  Lord  of  lords,  expires  on  Calvary,  and  the 
world  knows  not  that  he  is  suffering  the  expiation  of 
its  own  guilt.  Every  event  since  the  Fall  pointed  to 
that  cross — every  type  and  sacrifice  was  a  shadow  of 
it — the  glory  of  all  the  prophecies  gathered  around 
it,  yet  the  world,  as  stupid  as  the  gambling  execu- 
tioners, was  not  aware  that  anything  was  taking  place 
on  Calvary  more  than  the  crucifixion  of  a  common 
criminal.  But  this  dying  thief  calls  us  back  to  the 
subject. 

In  the  whole  history  of  the  world  it  would  be  hard 
to  find  an  instance  where  in  all  human  probability 
there  was  so  little  likelihood  of  a  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity as  in  the  instance  of  this  man.  He  was  an 
abandoned  and  desperate  fellow — perhaps  a  mur- 
derer. He  had  been  judged  worthy  of  capital  pun- 
ishment. He  was  according  to  his  own  confession 
deserving  of  the  ignominious  death  he  was  suffering. 
He  may  have  been  a  pagan,  and  if  so  his  religious 
education  had  been  nothing  but  a  jumble  of  silly  and 
licentious  fables  about  the  heathen  gods.  He  wanted 
that  mightiest  agent  to  melt  the  heart — the  recollec- 
tions of  the  relio:ious  instruction  of  childhood.     To 


274  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

him  there  were  no  remembrances  of  the  little  closet, 
and  of  prayers  learned  by  rote  from  the  lips  of  a  pious 
mother,  to  revive  latent  truth  and  awaken  dormant 
affections. 

Moreover  the  man  was  dying.  He  was  writhing  in 
the  agonies  of  crucifixion.  Life  was  ebbing  rapidly 
to  a  close.  His  spirit  was  fluttering  on  the  brink  of 
hell.  Yet  he  joined  with  the  other  thief  in  railing  at 
and  reviling  him  who  alone  could  save  him.  The 
other  Evangelists  say  that  "  the  thieves  "  took  up  the 
taunt  from  the  crowd  around  the  cross  and  cast  the 
"  same  in  his  teeth." 

But  hark  !  His  scoffings  are  turned  to  supplica- 
tions !  He  prays  !  God  has  ordained  that  this  brand 
be  plucked  from  the  burning.  The  Holy  Spirit 
touches  the  heart  of  that  thief,  and  though  apparently 
as  flinty  and  as  unsusceptible  of  any  impression  as  the 
rock  that  Moses  smote,  yet  a  gracious  stream  gushed 
forth. 

If  any  think  the  evidences  of  this  conversion  are 
scanty,  I  invite  such  to  examine  for  a  few  moments 
the  faith  he  manifested,  and  this  is  the  test  of  all 
Christian  character.  Such  faith  would  save  Satan  if 
the  Gospel  had  been  designed  for  devils. 

"  I  know  not,"  says  Calvin,  "that  since  the  creation 
of  the  world  there  ever  was  a  more  remarkable  and 
striking  example  of  faith." 

He  had  to  believe  on  one  whom  the  highest  tri- 
bunal in  the  land  had  put  on  a  level  with  himself — 
one  who  "  was  in  the  same  condemnation."  He  had 
to  believe  that  a  bleeding,  dying,  insulted  fellow-suf- 
ferer was  the  God  of  glory  and  Redeemer  of  the 
world.     The  eye  of  his  faith  had  to  pierce  through 


THE    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS.  275 

all  this  humiliation  and  shame  to  see  his  divinity. 
His  faith  had  to  break  through  the  ignominy  of  the 
Son  of  Man  in  order  to  get  to  the  Son  of  God.  He 
seizes,  too,  with  a  vigorous  and  as  it  were  an  intui- 
tive faith  upon  all  the  fundamental  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity. He  believes  in  a  future  state,  the  divinity  of 
Christ,  human  inability,  and  the  necessity  of  a  Saviour. 
The  Spirit  has  darted  all  these  truths  into  his  heart, 
and  he  has  responded  cordially  to  the  divine  teaching. 

He  was  made  no  exception  to  the  manner  of  coming 
to  Christ.  The  law  of  the  Gospel  was  not  relaxed  a 
particle.  He  came  as  all  must  come.  He  repented 
and  confessed.  He  was  converted  as  a  sinner.  The 
other  malefactor  wanted  to  escape  ;  but  this  one  ac- 
knowledges his  guilt.  He  repents  as  David  repented, 
as  Bunyan  repented,  as  any  Christian  repents.  To- 
gether with  this  conviction  of  sin  comes  the  conscious- 
ness of  human  helplessness.  He  dictates  no  terms, 
proposes  no  conditions,  but  surrenders  himself  wholly 
to  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  and  in  that  surrender 
every  spark  of  pride  is  extinguished.  There  is  no  ask- 
ing for  a  seat  at  the  right  or  left  hand  of  the  Saviour  ; 
he  asks  for  no  place  whatever,  but  simply  a  remem- 
brance. "  Remember  me  when  thou  comest  into 
thy  kingdom."     The  prayer  is  touchingly  humble. 

Euclid  said  there  is  no  royal  road  to  geometry. 
With  much  greater  truth  it  can  be  said  there  is  no 
royal  road  to  heaven.  Every  rich  and  royal  sinner 
must  come  to  Christ  just  as  this  poor  thief  came.  At 
the  cross  is  one  of  the  places  where  the  rich  and  the 
poor  meet  together.  David  threw  aside  his  robes  of 
royalty  and  v/ent  into  the  closet,  not  as  a  king  but  as 
a  sinner,  and  prayed  like  the  publican.     Christianity 


276  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

admits  no  reservations,  and  makes  no  compromises. 
It  will  have  the  whole  of  the  price,  or  none  at  all. 
He  who  would  obtain  the  happy  assurance  of  the 
thief  must  commit  the  matter  of  his  salvation  to  Christ 
as  he  did.  The  experience  of  Christians  is  essentially 
the  same  in  all  ages.  The  religion  of  this  thief  is  the 
religion  of  Adam  and  Abel  and  Enoch.  His  experi- 
ence is  theirs. 

But  I  have  already  kept  you  too  long  from  the 
Saviour's  part  of  the  dialogue.  The  answers  of  our 
Lord,  especially  to  those  in  distress,  have  the  direct- 
ness of  a  sunbeam.  There  is  no  ambiguity  about 
them.  To  one  he  says,  "  Son,  be  of  good  cheer  ;  thy 
sins  be  forgiven  thee."  To  another,  "  Daughter,  be 
of  good  comfort ;  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole." 
To  a  third,  ''  I  will  ;  be  thou  clean."  The  same 
promptness  and  directness  characterize  his  answer  to 
the  thief. 

All  the  sayings  of  the  Saviour  are  of  great  interest 
because  on  every  subject  he  touched  never  man  spake 
as  he  did  ;  but  his  sayings  while  on  the  cross  are  pos- 
sessed of  special  interest  on  account  of  the  circum- 
stances of  their  delivery.  They  have  in  them  the 
melancholy  sweetness  of  a  broken,  half  articulate  fare- 
well of  a  dying  friend.  There  are  seven  of  these 
sayings  on  the  cross  recorded.  Three  of  them  are 
expressions  of  compassion  for  those  around  him.  He 
prays  for  his  executioners  with  tenderness  enough  to 
make  a  statue  weep.  He  notices  his  mother — speaks 
to  her  kindly,  and  commends  her  to  the  protection  of 
the  disciple  most  beloved.  Another  is  the  answer  of 
the  text,  by  which  he  converted  the  cross  of  a  thief 
into  the  deathbed  of  a  Christian.     Was  there  ever 


THE    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS.  277 

such  a  change  ?  An  hour  ago  he  was  blaspheming, 
now  he  is  praying  and  praising.  In  the  morning  he 
was  posting  on  to  perdition,  before  night  he  was  with 
his  Redeemer  in  Paradise.  Never  was  such  assurance 
given  to  mortal  as  was  given  to  this  penitent  by  this 
reply.  You  may  search  the  Bible  from  beginning  to 
end,  and  you  will  find  nothing  like  it.  How  dif- 
ferent this  answer  from  any  that  men  would  have 
made  him  !  Some  would  have  told  him  he  was  too 
wicked,  others  that  it  was  too  late,  his  day  of  grace 
was  passed.  The  Romish  priest  would  have  sent  him 
to  Purgatory  instead  of  to  Paradise.  But,  thank 
Heaven,  amidst  this  babel  of  human  opinions  there  is 
a  more  sure  word  of  prophecy,  which  always  yields  an 
infallible  certainty  to  the  souls  that  trust  it.  There  is 
a  truth  in  the  text  that  extinguished  forever  the  fire 
of  Purgatory,  and  silenced  effectually  all  who  would 
exalt  sacraments  or  ordinances  above  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ. 

Thoughts  at  once  obvious  and  interesting  arise 
spontaneously  from  so  suggestive  a  subject  as  this. 
One  of  the  most  evident  of  them  all  is  Chrisfs  power 
to  save.  If  ever  a  sinner's  case  was  desperate,  this 
thief's  was.  The  most  sanguine  piety  could  scarcely 
have  indulged  a  hope  ;  yet  the  Saviour  brought  him 
off  triumphant  and  took  him  to  glory  as  a  trophy  of 
his  finished  work.  And  if  he  could  save  while  on  the 
cross,  who  will  despair  now  that  he  is  in  his  kingdom 
and  on  his  throne  ?  If,  while  he  himself  was  dying, 
he  could  save  the  thief  from  eternal  death,  who  will 
now  despair,  seeing  he  ''  ever  liveth  to  make  interces- 
sion for  us  "  ?  And  oh  !  the  precious  power  of  that 
blood   of   atonement.     While   it   was  yet   streaming 


278  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

fresh  and  warm  from  the  Redeemer's  body,  see  what 
it  could  do  !  It  could  take  this  dying  robber,  wash 
his  soul  of  stains  that  had  been  deepening  for  a  life- 
time, and  in  an  hour  make  him  clean  and  holy — fit  for 
the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  Ye  who  would 
make  sure  of  heaven,  try  the  efficacy  of  this  blood. 
Here  is  the  specific,  and  the  only  specific  that  can 
cure  and  save  you. 

But  Christ's  power  to  save  is  not  more  certain  than 
his  readiness  to  save. 

Would  it  not  be  natural  to  suppose  that  he  might 
be  excused  from  answering  prayer  or  granting  pardons 
just  then  ?  Without  adverting  to  his  spiritual  agony, 
which  was  the  burden  of  his  passion,  let  us  look  a 
moment  at  his  physical  conditions.  In  the  2 2d 
Psalm  we  have  a  wonderful  and  dramatic  description 
of  the  Saviour's  sufferings  while  on  the  cross.  Accord- 
ding  to  this  "  all  his  bones  are  out  of  joint,"  his 
"  strength  dried  up  like  a  potsherd,"  and  his  ''  tongue 
cleaving  to  his  jaws."  These  all  are  the  natural 
effects  of  crucifixion.  His  extension  on  the  cross 
would  dislocate  his  joints.  One  of  the  most  painful 
things  in  the  world  is  to  keep  any  part  of  the  body  in 
an  unnatural  position  for  any  length  of  time.  But 
the  Saviour's  body  with  all  his  bones  out  of  joint  had 
been  kept  in  such  a  posture  for  hours  ;  yet,  notwith- 
standing, he  is  ready  to  listen  to  the  first  breathings  of 
prayer  in  a  dying  penitent.  The  loss  of  blood,  and 
the  mid-day  sun  in  a  hot  climate  parching  his  naked 
body,  would  soon  bring  on  violent  inflammation  in  the 
wounded  parts,  which  would  spread  through  all  the 
veins  and  arteries,  and  rapidly  dry  up  the  moisture  of 
the  system,  and  thus  produce  the  most  intense  and 


THE    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS. 


279 


intolerable  thirst.  No  description  of  ^i  battle-field  is 
full  and  faithful  which  does  not  introduce  the  cries  of 
the  wounded  for  water.  The  soldier,  as  he  lies  wel- 
tering in  his  blood,  will  beg  for  water  or  for  death. 
These  entreaties  are  touching,  and  used  to  draw  tears 
from  the  eyes  of  Napoleon,  the  hero  of  a  hundred 
battles.  It  was  this  furnace-like  thirst  that  dried  up 
the  strength  of  the  Saviour  like  a  potsherd.  He  did 
not  complain  of  the  nails  in  his  hands  or  the  spikes 
in  his  feet,  he  said  not  a  word  about  his  sore  and 
swollen  joints,  but  he  was  compelled  to  cry  ''  I  thirst." 
Yet,  parched  for  drink  as  he  was,  he  forgot  all  to  save 
the  thief. 

To  understand  fully  the  sufferings  of  Christ  on  the 
cross,  it  must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  he  was  a 
perfect  man.  He  did  not  assume  half  of  our  nature 
but  the  whole  of  it.  He  was  tremblingly  alive  to 
insult  and  ignominy  ;  so  insult  and  ignominy  were 
made  ingredients  of  the  bitter  cup  he  drank.  "  I  may 
tell  all  my  bones  while  they  look  and  stare  upon  me," 
is  a  part  of  the  description  to  which  I  have  already 
alluded.  This  being  stared  upon  is  here  put  alongside 
of  his  most  intense  bodily  agony.  We  have  seen  the 
Romans  gambling  for  his  clothes.  He  is  exposed  for 
hours  to  the  embarrassing  stare  of  a  gaping  crowd. 
One  of  the  sorest  temptations  to  which  anyone  can  be 
subjected  is  to  be  dared  to  put  forth  a  power  which 
he  is  conscious  of  possessing.  The  Saviour  escaped 
not  this  temptation  either.  "  Ha  !  "  cries  one  on  this 
side  of  the  cross,  "  he  saved  others — let  him  save 
himself  if  he  be  the  Christ,  the  Chosen  of  God."  And 
on  the  other  side  cries  another,  "  Ah  !  If  thou  be 
King  of  the  Jews,  as  thou  dost  profess  to  be,  save 


28o  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

thyself."  Now  these  taunts  were  as  much  a  part  of 
the  Crucifixion  as  the  stripes  and  the  nails  were.  They 
were  poisoned  arrows  that  stuck  and  quivered  in  their 
victim.  But  all  this  could  not  make  him  disregard 
for  one  instant  the  sinner  at  his  side.  His  fever  and 
intolerable  thirst  produced  in  his  case,  as  it  would  in 
the  case  of  anyone,  a  swelling  of  the  tongue.  It 
would  be  painful  and  difficult  for  him  to  speak.  He 
might  have  heard  and  pardoned  the  thief  without 
uttering  a  word  of  comfort ;  but  no  !  no  !  in  broken, 
half-articulate  accents  he  gives  him  an  assurance 
such  as  he  never  gave  a  patriarch,  prophet,  or  apostle. 
Doubt  that  this  light  streaming  around  us  comes 
from  the  sun,  doubt  your  own  identity  or  existence, 
doubt  anything,  but  never  doubt  Christ's  willingness 
to  save  the  worst,  the  humblest,  the  youngest,  the 
oldest,  all — everyone.  Listen  to  me  when  I  tell  you  he 
is  ready  to  save  all,  everyone  !  I  will  make  the  asser- 
tion as  strong  as  the  Englisii  language  can  make  it ; 
as  strong  as  all  languages,  living  or  dead,  can  make  it. 
The  power  of  prayer  is  another  truth  growing  out 
of  this  subject.  The  man  had  never  prayed  before. 
The  first  petition  that  fell  from  lips  worn  callous  by 
oaths  and  blasphemy  was  answered.  It  was  one  in 
which  there  was  no  formality.  It  has  been  said  by  an 
eminent  divine  that  if  Christ  should  be  engaged  in 
creating  a  world,  and  the  cry  of  some  penitent  prodi- 
gal should  be  addressed  to  him,  if  both  could  not 
be  attended  to  at  once,  he  would  abandon  the 
creation  of  the  world  to  attend  to  the  case  of  the  sinner. 
We  can  have  no  dynamics  by  which  to  compute  the  in- 
fluence of  prayer  until  we  have  an  arithmetic  by  which 
we  can  compute  the  value  of  the  soul. 


'  THE    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS.  281 

Beside  its  saving  quality,  it  has  a  preservative  power. 
Naturalists  tell  us  of  a  curious  insect  called  the  diving 
water-spider.  By  a  law  of  its  nature  this  little  creature 
can  envelop  itself  in  an  atmosphere  like  that  which 
encircles  the  earth,  only  on  a  small  scale,  and  thus 
shielded  it  can  descend  to  the  bottom  of  deep  and  stag- 
nant pools,  and  although  the  water  around  it  be  bitter 
and  putrid,  the  diver  moves  about  dry  and  at  its  leisure. 
Prayer  protects  the  believer  with  a  vesture  like  this. 
Guarded  thus  he  can  descend  into  the  unhealthy  and 
contagious  pools  of  the  world,  untouched  and  uncon- 
taminated.  Prayer  is  the  buoy  which  rides  the  roaring 
flood  ;  the  asbestos  robe,  which  defies  the  devouring 
flame.  It  is  the  tent  in  which  frailty  sleeps  securely, 
and  anguish  forgets  to  mourn.  It  is  the  shield  on 
which  the  world  and  the  Wicked  One  expend  their 
darts  in  vain.  And  when  pain  and  temptation  and 
agony  are  all  over  ;  whether  wafted  by  Sabbath 
zephyrs,  or  winged  by  scorching  flames  ;  whether 
guided  by  hurrying  angels,  or  dragged  by  raging 
lions  ;  whether  the  starting-point  be  Patmos,  or  Jeru- 
salem, or  Smithfield,  or  Babylon,  it  is  the  chariot 
which  conveys  the  departing  spirit  to  the  Saviour's 
bosom. 

The  text  corrects  an  error  which  it  is  to  be  feared  is 
quite  wide  spread.  This  consists  in  supposing  that 
some  preparation  is  required  of  the  sinner  before  he 
can  come  to  Christ.  Men  are  ashamed  to  come  to 
the  Saviour  all  covered  and  reeking  with  their  iniqui- 
ties, and  in  too  many  instances  set  about  a  vigorous 
reformation  of  their  lives  to  make  themselves,  if  I 
may  so  speak,  respectable  candidates  for  regenera- 
tion.    They  want  to  take  a  part  of  the  work  out   of 


252  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  hands  of  the  Saviour.  An  egregious  error ! 
Christ  will  do  the  whole  work,  or  none  at  all.  He 
will  have  all  the  glory  or  none.  If  a  man  is  dying  he 
never  thinks  of  waiting  until  he  himself  can  effect  a 
partial  cure  before  he  applies  to  a  physician.  The 
sinner's  case  is  similar.  What  preparation  had  this 
thief?  If  he  had  waited  to  lop  off  his  more  flagrant 
vices  ;  if  he  had  waited  to  trim  his  character  into  a 
more  decent  shape  ;  he  would  have  waited  till  he  was 
evermore  undone. 

Let  not  conscience  make  you  linger, 

Nor  of  fitness  fondly  dream; 
All  the  fitness  he  requireth, 

Is  to  feel  your  need  of  him. 

There  are  a  great  many  other  topics  suggested 
which  I  cannot  take  time  to  discuss.  Permit  me 
to  mention  some  without  dwelling  upon  them  at  any 
length. 

(i)  Justification  is  complete  at  once  and  forever. 
Bad,  abandoned,  and  desperate  as  he  was,  the  moment 
this  thief  believed,  he  was  immaculate  in  the  eyes  of 
the  law.  Justice  had  nothing  against  him.  With  a 
faith  only  half  an  hour  old  he  was  as  completely  justi- 
fied as  was  Abraham  with  his  faith  of  a  century.  One 
drop  of  that  blood  now  trickling  down  the  cross  was 
worth  all  the  good  works  ever  performed,  all  pilgrim- 
ages ever  made,  or  all  relics  ever  collected.  The  most 
eloquent  preacher  in  France,  if  not  in  the  world,  died 
a  few  days  ago.  Among  the  last  things  he  said  was 
that  his  ministerial  labors,  his  works,  and  preaching 
he  reckoned  as  filthy  rags ;  "  a  drop  of  my  Saviour's 
blood,"  said  he,  "  is  infinitely  more  precious." 


THE    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS.  283 

(2)  Faith  without  works  is  dead.  Let  it  never 
be  forgotten  that  good  works  are  no  part  of  our 
justification.  Let  it  ever  be  remembered,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  faith  without  them  is  as  worthless  as  salt 
without  savor.  They  will  never  produce  faith,  but 
faith  invariably  produces  them.  This  thief  is  no  ex- 
ception.  He  performed  one  of  the  best  deeds  ever 
mortal  performed.  He  confessed  Christ  before  a 
scoffing  world.  No  sooner  was  he  a  Christian  than  he 
made  a  public  profession  of  Christianity.  And  was 
ever  Christ  professed  in  such  circumstances  ?  He  was, 
too,  the  only  one  in  that  awful  hour  who  was  found  to 
testify  to  the  Saviour's  innocence.  His  disciples,  for 
whom  he  had  done  so  much,  had  deserted.  John  in- 
deed was  in  the  crowd,  but  fear  had  shut  his  mouth. 
Not  one  of  those  whom  Christ  had  fed  or  healed  was 
there  to  publicly  declare  that  he  was  innocent.  This 
was  left  for  a  dying  thief.  Who  will  say  now  that  he 
did  no  good  works  ? 

He  not  only  professed  Christ,  he  preached  him. 
The  sense  of  pardoned  sin  makes  every  man  a  mis- 
sionary. His  field  may  be  small.  It  may  be  his  own 
household,  or  his  neighborhood,  yet  he  is  none  the 
less  a  missionary.  Both  the  Bible  and  experience 
prove  it.  "  The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say.  Come  !  And 
let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come  !  "  As  soon  as  this  thief 
heard,  he  said,  Come.  He  began  to  preach.  He  could 
not  work  for  God  with  hands  and  feet.  They  were 
fast  to  the  cross.  He  had  only  one  member  left  free 
— his  tongue — and  that  he  consecrated  to  the  service, 
swollen,  parched,  and  feverish  as  it  was.  All  preach- 
ing is  not  done  in  the  pulpit,  or  by  ministers.  All  can 
do  this  in  their  own  way.     The  little  child  that  with 


284  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

clasped  hands  kneels  daily  in  its  closet  preaches  to 
careless,  prayerless  men  a  more  powerful  sermon 
than  was  ever  delivered  by  Whitefield  or  Chalmers. 
The  lark  that  mounted  singing  to  Heaven,  as  we 
came  to  church,  uttered  a  sermon  on  gratitude  and 
praise. 

(3)  The  Gospel  as  a  Gospel  of  love  is  exemplified  in 
the  case  of  the  thief.  There  is  scarcely  any  more 
striking  proof  of  human  depravity  than  the  supreme 
selfishness  that  has  reigned  ever  since  the  Fall.  Man 
went  from  Eden  a  selfish,  and  consequently  an  un- 
happy being.  This  evil,  like  a  haughty  tyrant,  has 
ruled  him  ever  since.  Christianity  drives  him  out  of 
self  and  sends  him  abroad  with  blessings  for  his  fel- 
lows. No  sooner  did  grace  enter  the  heart  of  this 
thief  than  self-love  left  ;  and  he  immediately  thinks  of 
others,  admonishes  a  gentle  rebuke  to  his  companion, 
and  comes  out  as  the  apologist  of  Christ. 

(4)  Religion  is  the  easiest,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
most  difficult  thing  in  the  world. 

(5)  No  two  parts  of  the  Bible  have  been  wrested 
more  from  their  original  purpose  than  the  Parables  of 
the  thief  and  the  eleventh-hour  laborer.  "  This  case," 
it  has  been  said,  "  is  recorded  that  none  should  de- 
spair, and  only  this  one  that  none  should  presume." 
Indeed  the  mercies  of  God  are  never  recorded  for 
man's  presumption,  nor  the  failings  of  men  for  imita- 
tion. Death-bed  repentance  is  too  perilous  an  experi- 
ment to  be  tried  in  a  case  involving  so  much  as  the 
loss  of  the  soul.  And  it  never  should  be  forgotten, 
that  if  one  was  saved  the  other  was  lost  ;  if  one  went 
to  Paradise  with  the  Saviour,  the  other  went  to  perdi- 
tion with  blasphemy  on  his  lips.     It  was  then  as  it  is 


THE    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS.  285 

now,  and  as  it  will  be  at  the  Last  Day  ;  two  are  together, 
the  one  shall  be  taken,  the  other  left.  The  sun  that 
ripens  one  apple  rots  another.  The  means  of  grace 
that  are  a  savor  of  life  unto  life  to  one,  are  a  savor  of 
death  unto  death  to  another — another  in  the  same 
circumstances,  church,  pew,  or  family.  The  thief 
that  was  lost  had  the  same  opportunities  of  repentance 
as  the  other,  he  heard  all  he  heard  ;  yet  one  was  taken, 
the  other  left. 

But  I  only  ask  of  those  who  are  procrastinating 
to  do  as  much  as  this  man  did.  We  have  not  a  shadow 
of  evidence  that  he  had  ever  before  had  an  opportunity 
of  professing  Christ.  He  embraced  his  very  first 
chance.  If  all  would  do  as  he  did  there  would  be  no 
need  of  death-bed  repentances. 

Have  we,  or  have  we  not,  the  faith  of  this  thief  ?  If 
we  have,  happy  are  we.  The  man  who  has  a  tithe  of 
his  assurance  is  as  far  above  the  petty  trifles  and 
troubles  of  the  world  as  the  eagle  is  above  the  crawl- 
ing snail  or  the  grovelling  worm.  There  is  an  hour 
coming  when  we  shall  all  need  the  remembrance  this 
man  prayed  for  as  much  as  he  needed  it.  This  reply, 
indeed,  shows  us  how  close  we  live  to  eternity.  A  very 
slight  partition  divides  the  two  states.  We  step 
aboard  the  cars  ;  the  glowing  wheels  have  to  make  a 
deviation  of  but  six  inches  and  we  are  in  eternity. 
When  we  go  aboard  a  steamboat  there  is  the  power  of 
five  hundred  horses  tugging  at  the  boilers  under  us. 
Time  is  so  short  that  it  is  really  not  a  hyperbole 
to  say  of  each  one  of  us,  to-day  we  shall  be  in 
Paradise  or  perdition.  If  that  could  be  spoken 
literally,  how  it  would  startle  us  !  It  should  startle 
us  as  it  is. 


286  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

When  that  eventful  hour  comes,  and  come  it 
must,  it  will  little  matter  if  our  friends  neglect  and 
desert  us — if  our  father  and  mother  forget  and  dis- 
own us  ;  but  it  will  be  a  matter  of  infinite  importance 
if  then  he  who  remembered  the  thief  shall  remember 
us. 


Y. 

TRIBULATION  AND  ITS  FRUITS. 


V. 

TRIBULATION  AND  ITS  FRUITS. 

'^ And  not  only  so,  but  ive  glory  in  tribulations  also  ;  knowing 
that  tribulation  worketh  patience  ; 

''''And patience^  experience  ;  and  experience,  hope  ; 

''''And  hope  viaketh  not  ashamed  :   because  the  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us.' 
— Romans  v.  3-5. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  Epistle  Paul 
elaborated  the  argument  for  justification  by  faith. 
This  fundamental  article  established,  he  proceeds  to 
show  the  effects  and  consequences  of  it.  The  first 
effect  is  :  "  Peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  The  second  is  :  Access  to  God  through  the 
same  Saviour.  The  third  is  :  Exultation  in  hope  of 
the  glory  of  God.  The  fourth  is  :  Grace  to  glory  in 
tribulations  even. 

The  chastisements  of  Christians  are  a  means  of 
grace.  They  are  not  judicial  punishments  ;  they 
are  the  corrections  of  a  loving  Father. 

Nothing  is  more  clearly  revealed  than  the  fact  that 
tribulation  is  an  important  element  in  the  Christian 
economy. 

In  one  of  his  visions  John  saw  "A  great  multitude, 
which  no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations,  and  kin- 
dreds, and  people,  and  tongues,  standing  before  the 
throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white 
robes  and  palms  in  their  hands." 

289 


290  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

The  enquiry  is  made  :  "  What  are  these  which  are 
arrayed  in  white  robes  ?  And  whence  came  they  ?  " 
The  answer  is  : 

"  These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribula- 
tion, and  have  washed  their  robes  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

"  I  know  thy  works,  and  tribulation  and  poverty," 
are  the  words  of  commendation  sent  by  the  Spirit  to 
the  Church  of  Smyrna. 

"  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation,"  were 
among  the  last  words  of  the  Redeemer  to  his  disciples. 

Through  much  tribulation  we  must  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  was  the  uniform  teaching  of  Paul. 

The  manifest  teaching  of  the  Bible,  therefore,  is  : 

That  tribulations  are  sanctified  to  God's  people 
and  become  the  means  whereby  Christians  attain  to 
the  stature  of  perfect  men  in  Christ  Jesus. 

This  is  the  general  statement  of  a  general  truth. 

In  the  text  Paul  gives  us  a  brief  analysis  of  the 
process  by  which  this  general  result  is  reached.  To 
this  analysis  I  now  invite  your  attention. 

Tribulation  worketh  patience.  Patience  includes 
not  only  the  disposition  that  .quietly  and  meekly  sub- 
mits to  suffering,  but  also  the  power  to  endure  suffer- 
ing. The  simple  point  before  us  then  is  :  How,  in 
the  economy  of  God,  is  this  power  acquired  ? 

Exercise,  effort,  is  the  great  law  of  growth  in  the 
divine  government.     It  applies  to  the  body. 

If  the  child  should  lie  in  its  cradle  from  morning 
till  night  it  would  soon  be  a  corpse  or  a  dwarf.  It  is 
the  irrepressible  activity  of  the  child  that  develops 
the  beautiful  symmetry  of  the  body.  Not  a  muscle, 
tendon,  fibre,  nerve,  gets  leave  to  remain   inert.     By 


TRIBULATION    AND    ITS    FRUITS.  29I 

an  ordinance  of  God  the  child  romps,  the  lamb  skips, 
and  the  kitten  plays.  Exercise  is  life  and  strength. 
Inactivity  is  imbecility  or  death. 

The  muscles  on  the  arm  of  the  blacksmith  that 
wields  the  hammer  are  as  hard  as  hickory  withes. 
The  brutal  prizefighter  goes  through  the  most  rigid 
training  before  he  enters  the  bloody  arena.  Roman 
fable  illustrates  the  same  thing,  in  the  exaggerations 
of  the  strength  of  Milo,  who,  according  to  ancient 
story,  carried  a  calf  every  day,  his  strength  increasing 
with  its  weight,  until  he  carried  the  full-grown  ox, 
and  with  his  hands  could  rive  the  living  oak. 

The  law  applies  to  the  mind. 

Why  is  every  student,  regardless  of  his  prospective 
sphere,  put  upon  the  brain-perplexing  problems  of 
algebra,  geometry,  trigonometry,  conic  sections,  and 
calculus  ?  It  is  because  the  mind,  as  well  as  the 
body,  grows  only  by  effort.  The  greater  the  effort, 
the  greater  the  growth. 

Stuffing  the  mind  with  facts,  dates,  principles,  is  not 
education.  A  mind  thus  crammed  is  to  a  really  edu- 
cated mind  what  a  sack  of  wool  is  to  a  pillar  of  brass 
or  iron.  The  man  who  knows  the  most  is  by  no 
means  the  strongest  man  intellectually.  He  that 
eats  the  most  is  not  the  strongest  man  physically. 
Gormandizer  is  not  synonymous  with  giant.  Effort — 
continuous,  arduous,  intense  effort — develops  the  intel- 
lect, and  nothing  else  will. 

The  law  applies  to  the  moral  nature  as  well. 

Love,  pity,  benevolence,  are  strengthened  by  exer- 
cise. The  more  a  man  pities,  the  deeper  and  tenderer 
his  pity  becomes.  His  demonstrations  may  not  be 
so  great  as  at  first,  but  his  feelings  will  be  stronger. 


292  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

The  same  is  true  of  benevolence.  The  more  a  man 
gives,  the  more  he  will  give.  The  more  anyone  does 
for  the  good  of  others,  the  more  is  he  ready  to  do. 
The  law  applies  in  its  full  force  to  all  the  affections 
and  virtues  ;  they  develop  and  strengthen  by  exercise 
and  only  by  exercise. 

This  same  law  obtains  in  our  spiritual  nature. 

Faith,  hope,  charity,  develop  by  exercise.  Abra- 
ham's faith  was  athletic  because  God  proved  and 
tried  him.  *'  The  trial  of  our  faith,"  Peter  says,  "  is 
more  precious  than  that  of  gold  which  perisheth," 

Our  capacity  for  suffering  is  developed  in  the  same 
way. 

"Tribulation  worketh  patience." 

One  unaccustomed  to  pain  will  chafe  under  the 
slightest  disorder ;  but  he  whose  companion  for 
thirty  years  has  been  his  crutch,  who  has  not  been 
free  from  pain  for  half  a  century,  is  resigned  and 
cheerful.  His  passive  powers  have  been  undergoing 
an  education  all  this  time.  The  wonder  so  frequently 
expressed  at  the  cheerfulness  of  great  sufferers  is  a 
practical  exegesis  of  the  text  :  "  Tribulation  worketh 
patience."  Physical  pain  is  but  a  small  part  of  tribu- 
lation. The  soul  is  more  susceptible,  by  far,  than  the 
body.  "  The  spirit  of  a  man  will  sustain  his  in- 
firmity ;  but  a  wounded  spirit  who  can  bear  ? "  The 
wide  territory  of  man's  sensibilities  and  susceptibili- 
ties is  exposed  to  attack  ;  soul  and  body  suffer. 
Tribulation  embraces  the  whole  range  of  human 
sensibility. 

God,  in  his  manifold  wisdom  and  infinite  skill, 
adopts  various  expedients  in  his  providence  to  disci- 
pline and   edify  his   people.     As  varied  as  the   skill 


TRIBULATION    AND    ITS    FRUITS.  293 

which  clothes  the  earth  with  blades  of  grass  and  robes 
the  forests  of  all  the  globe  in  leaves,  no  two  of  which 
are  precisely  alike,  is  the  dealing  of  God  toward 
different  individuals. 

Many  of  the  noblest  traits  and  highest  virtues  are 
brought  out  only  by  tribulation,  as  the  golden  wheat 
flies  from  its  husk  beneath  the  flail  ;  or  as  the 
mallet  and  the  chisel  bring  statuary  from  the  form- 
less marble,  or  as  darkness  makes  the  stars  leap  forth 
from  the  depths  of  the  heavens.  The  man  who  escapes 
tribulation  goes  to  his  grave  with  many  of  the  best 
springs  of  his  being  untouched  and  inactive.  The 
full  rounded  symmetry  of  his  character  is  no  more 
developed  than  the  whole  harmony  of  a  musical 
instrument  is  brought  out  by  playing  upon  one  string 
or  striking  upon  one  key.  God  in  his  providence 
sweeps  his  hand  over  all  the  keys  and  stops  until  the 
full  harmony  of  the  man's  being  is  called  forth. 
The  passive  powers  of  humanity  God  evokes  by 
suffering.  He  stretches  out  the  rod,  and  it  becomes 
the  wand  beneath  which  hidden  virtues  and  powers 
spring  to  light.  An  entirely  new  phase  is  given  to 
character.  A  new  and  distinct  set  of  qualities  and 
attributes  is  called  into  exercise.  Job  in  the  ex- 
tremities of  his  affliction  is  a  greater  and  a  better  man 
than  when  he  washed  his  steps  with  butter  and  the 
rock  poured  him  out  rivers  of  oil.  The  strength  and 
glory  of  his  character  were  never  seen  until  he  was 
smitten,  stricken,  and  buffeted.  Fire  slumbers  in  the 
rock,  and  slumber  it  will  until  the  hammer  or  the  iron 
hoof  of  the  prancing  steed  awakens  it. 

He  has  the  most  complete  and  symmetrical  char- 
acter who,  sustained  by  God's  spirit  and  grace,  has 


294  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

passed  through  the  most  trying  vicissitudes  of  fortune 
and  the  keenest  experiences  of  suffering. 

Nothing  more  imperiously  compels  our  admiration 
and  homage  than  great  patience — the  power  of  endur- 
ing. This  power,  under  God,  is  developed  by  tribu- 
lation.    "Tribulation  worketh  patience." 

But  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  work  ;  the 
first  step  in  a  long  process.  Patience  has  its  results, 
consequences,  tendencies,  influences.  These  all 
work.     "  Patience  worketh  experience." 

Experience  here  signifies  test  or  trial. 

It  tests  the  promises  of  the  world  and  finds  them 
false.  It  tests  the  promises  of  God  and  finds  them 
true.  It  tests  the  pious  affections  and  finds  them 
genuine. 

With  false  weights  in  false  balances  we  weigh  the 
world,  when  in  prosperity  and  success.  In  the  fur- 
nace of  affliction  the  balances  are  more  accurate. 
The  promises  of  the  world  are  there  received  at  a 
considerable  discount. 

The  world  fails  just  when  some  assistance  or 
recourse  is  needed.  It  cannot  pluck  a  single  sorrow 
from  the  heart.  It  cannot  put  a  particle  of  down  in 
a  death-bed  pillow.  It  can  give  no  title  to  any  hope 
or  inheritance  beyond  the  grave.  In  all  the  critical 
junctures  of  human  existence  it  is  barren  of  sympathy 
and  aid.  What  worth  to  him  was  David's  crown  as 
he  went  up  to  the  chamber  over  the  gate,  crying  as 
he  went :  "  O  my  son  Absalom  !  my  son,  my  son  Ab- 
salom !  would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  O  Absalom, 
my  son,  my  son  !  "  A  trinket  to  lure  the  hours  of  a 
child  his  crown  seemed  then  to  him.  His  royal  state 
and   power  proffered   him  no  support  or  solace.     He 


TRIBULATION    AND    ITS    FRUITS.  295 

would  have  exchanged  the  regal  palace  for  the  shep- 
herd's hut  and  his  kingly  sceptre  for  the  shepherd's 
crook,  if  thereby  he  could  have  plucked  from  his  heart 
the  gnawing  grief. 

He  whose  patience  has  been  educated  by  tribula- 
tion writes  with  a  diamond  point  on  the  world's  best 
estate  :  '^  Thou  hast  been  weighed  and  art  found 
wanting," 

Experience  tests  the  truth  of  God's  promises. 

Many  of  the  most  precious  promises  are  verified 
only  in  affliction.  We  cannot  appreciate  the  Almighty 
as  a  shield  until  we  need  protection  ;  nor  as  a  sun 
until  we  need  light.  Nor  can  we  appreciate  Christ  as 
a  brother  until  we  need  sympathy. 

"  As  thy  day  so  shall  thy  strength  be  ;  "  "  My  grace 
shall  be  sufficient  for  thee  ;  "  and  a  large  group  of 
similar  texts  have  a  fulness  of  meaning,  a  plenitude 
of  comfort  in  affliction  which  they  never  could  other- 
wise have.  In  seasons  of  severest  trials  God  delights 
to  prove  himself  faithful.  He  gives  his  people,  at 
such  times,  indubitable  evidences  of  his  veracity  and 
sincerity.  "  Taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good,"  is 
the  challenge  to  every  man.  The  infinite  Jehovah 
stakes  his  character  and  his  throne  on  the  issue. 
Thousands  in  all  ages  certify  the  fact  that  these 
promises  have  been  kept.  They  have  glorified  the 
Lord  in  the  fires. 

Experience  tests  pious  affections  and  proves  them 
genuine. 

The  house  that  resisted  the  storm  and  flood  fur- 
nished good  evidence,  by  that  resistance,  that  its 
foundation  was  on  a  rock.  The  faith  and  love  and 
holy  affections    that  survive  the  tribulations   which 


296  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

produce  patience  furnish  evidence  quite  as  good 
that  their  origin  is  divine.  Graces  which  outlive 
such  trials  are  not  the  earth-born  impulses  of  an 
hour.  The  man  in  whose  heart  they  dwell  has  passed 
from  death  unto  life.     He  is  a  new  creature. 

A  word,  here,  of  recapitulation.  Experience  tests 
the  hollowness  and  emptiness  of  the  world.  This 
discovery  gives  wings  to  the  affections  and  desires. 
They  fly  up  to  an  eyry  that  is  in  the  clefts  of  the 
Rock  of  Ages,  where  no  storm,  or  flood,  or  disaster 
ever  comes.  The  Divine  faithfulness  is  tested  at  the 
same  time,  and  this  produces  confidence  in  God, 
while  the  trial  of  faith  proves  it  genuine.  All  this 
experience  tends  to  one  point.  All  these  discoveries, 
influences,  and  tendencies  combine  to  produce  hope. 
Experience  worketh  hope — a  blessed  hope — a  good 
hope  through  grace.  "  Which  hope  we  have  as  an 
anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and  steadfast,  and 
which  entereth  into  that  within  the  vail."  A  hope 
that  maketh  not  ashamed !  It  will  never  disappoint 
those  who  cherish  it.     It  will  never  perish. 

It  is  a  bitter  mortification  to  find  a  cherished  hope 
go  to  pieces  in  the  hour  when  all  that  it  promised 
was  about  to  be  realized.  But  it  is  a  source  of  grati- 
fication and  unspeakable  joy  to  find  a  hope  to  which 
we  have  long  and  fondly  clung  more  than  equal  to  all 
the  emergencies  which  are  to  try  it.  Such  will  be 
the  sequel  of  the  hope  begotten  of  experience. 

The  earnest  of  this  final  and  complete  vindication 
of  this  hope  is  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  the 
heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  A  spark  of  that  love  once 
in  the  heart  will  never  go  out.  Rivers  and  deluges 
cannot  extinguish  it.     Mountains  and  continents  can- 


I  TRIBULATION    AND    ITS    FRUITS.  297 

not   smother   it.     It  will    live   on,   burn   on,  until  it 
blazes  up  into  a  lambent  flame  of  eternal  glory. 

Thus :  Tribulation  worketh  patience,  patience 
experience,  experience  hope,  and  hope  maketh  not 
ashamed.     This  is  the  apostle's  inspired  analysis. 

The  subject  may  have  various  applications  : 

I.  Mark  the  estate  of  the  righteous.  All  things 
are  theirs,  "  whether  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or 
things  present,  or  things  to  come  ;  all  are  theirs  ;  and 
they  are  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's." 

The  believer  can  glory  in  tribulation  even.  He  sees 
all  things  working  together  for  his  ultimate  good.  All 
the  chaotic,  conflicting,  antagonistic  events  and  inter- 
ests of  his  history  are  as  true  to  this  one  great  end  as 
the  needle  is  true  to  the  pole,  or  as  the  planet  is  loyal  to 
the  sun.  While  the  unbeliever  is  bewildered  and  diz- 
zied by  the  tumultuous  eddy  and  whirl  and  strife  of 
opposing  influences,  the  believer  sits  aloft  on  a  calm, 
strong  tide,  that  with  steady  progress  bears  him  on- 
ward to  the  everlasting  haven.  Nothing  for  a  moment 
impedes  his  course.  Nothing  can.  In  prosperity  he 
blesses  God  and  walks  softly.  Beneath  the  rod  he 
sings  praises.  Amidst  the  crash  and  utter  wreck  of 
earthly  fortune  he  blesses  him  that  gave  and  him  that 
takes  away.  Temporal  loss  he  sets  down  as  spiritual 
gain.  While  his  deposits  and  assets  are  diminishing 
he  is  laying  up  treasures  in  heaven  which  bankruptcy 
can  never  touch.  His  assets  on  high  are  safe.  His 
deposits  there  are  in  the  vaults  of  a  bank  that  never 
fails  or  suspends. 

The  great  universe,  as  it  rushes  like  the  lightning 
through  immensity,  will  be  made  to  stand  still,  if  need 
be,  sooner  than  the  real  interest  of  the  meanest  saint 


298  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

shall  suffer  detriment  to  the  weight  or  valuation  of  a 
hair. 

If  riches  are  for  your  good,  the  riches  of  the  Roths- 
childs shall  be  yours.  Your  cup  and  your  coffers 
shall  be  filled,  pressed  down,  heaped  up,  shaken 
together,  running  over.  If  honors  are  for  your  good, 
honors  you  shall  have  until  they  overtop  the  regal 
splendors  that  perched  on  the  imperial  crest  of 
David's  son.  If  tribulation  is  for  your  good,  tribula- 
tion you  shall  have.  In  the  furnace  you  shall  stay 
until  all  dross  is  purged  away  ;  and  God,  the  great 
Refiner,  shall  see  his  own  image  clearly  reflected  in 
you.  If  necessary  you  shall  pass  from  the  society  of 
dogs  at  the  rich  man's  gate  to  be  ushered  through 
pearly  gates  into  the  New  Jerusalem. 

II.  There  is  then  a  unity  in  the  Christian's  life.  The 
purpose  of  God  toward  him  is  single.  Everything  in 
Divine  providence  contributes  to  carrying  forward  the 
Divine  purpose.  The  believer's  falls  and  backslid- 
ings  are  overruled  for  his  good.  Peter  never  forgot 
his  denial.  Perhaps  no  experience  less  bitter  would 
ever  have  shaken  his  self-confidence.  This,  however 
(it  may  be  observed  parenthetically),  no  more  justifies 
these  falls  and  backslidings  than  the  purpose  of  God 
justified  the  betrayer  and  crucifiers  of  our  Lord  in 
their  work  of  perfidy  and  blood.  To  man  belongs 
the  sin.  To  God  belongs  the  glory  of  bringing  good 
out  of  evil. 

No  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  therefore,  no  reverses, 
no  disasters,  can  disturb  the  believer's  relations  with 
his  God  ;  nor  change  the  purpose  of  his  God  toward 
him  ;  nor  arrest  the  drift  and  current  of  his  life 
heavenward.     Let  all  else  be  lost,  the   Divine  idea  of 


TRIBULATION    AND    ITS    I  RUITS.  .    299 

ultimate  salvation  is  preserved.  This  is  never  lost, 
nor  lost  sight  of.  Let  fire,  and  flood,  and  financial 
crises  come.  Let  them  take  everything  that  is  inflam- 
able  ;  the  title-deed  to  an  inheritance  in  light  is  safe. 
It  is  secure  beyond  all  risks.  Scent  of  fire,  moisture 
of  flood,  or  tooth  of  moth  shall  never  touch  it. 

We  do  not  need,  therefore,  a  different  adminis- 
tration of  Providence,  nor  a  new  charter,  nor  an 
amended  constitution  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The 
urgent  need  of  Christendom  is  an  overcoming  faith. 
"  This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even 
our  faith." 

We  stand  amidst  the  deafening  jar  and  din  of  con- 
flicting  interests.  To  the  carnal  and  sensuous  ear  it 
is  a  bedlam  of  harsh  and  discordant  noises.  The  ear 
of  faith,  however,  detects  a  melodious  harmony  in  it  all. 

We  stand  amidst  events  which  seem  to  us  as  lawless 
and  frenzied  as  a  mob.  Backward,  forward,  hither- 
ward,  thitherward  they  seem  to  be  rushing  in  all  the 
complex  and  intricate  movements  of  chaos  and  con- 
fusion. Rise,  my  hearers,  up  to  the  serene  region 
of  faith  and  look  down.  Then  you  will  see  order 
springing  out  of  chaos,  system  out  of  confusion. 
Then  you  will  see  tribulation  working  patience, 
patience  experience,  experience  hope,  and  hope 
exultant  in  victory. 

III.  The  legitimate  effect  of  hope  is  to  elevate, 
ennoble,  and  make  magnanimous. 

He  that  cherishes  the  hope  of  a  nobleman's  estate 
will  pitch  the  tenor  of  his  life  above  the  purposes  of 
a  scavenger.  This  buoys  up  his  tastes  and  pursuits. 
Pluck  this  from  the  heart  of  man  and  you  consign 
him  to  infamy  and  beggary  :  but  plant  in  his  heart  a 


3^00  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

joyous  hope  and  you  give  him  an  impulse  that  will 
do  much  toward  his  elevation. 

The  aims,  the  conduct,  the  bearing  of  a  Christian, 
should  comport  with  the  hope  he  indulges.  Ye  are 
God's  noblemen.  Act  worthy  of  your  estate  and  the 
reversion  in  prospect  for  you  ! 

How  can  you  go  back  to  the  beggarly  elements  of 
the  world  ?  For  a  Christian  to  besmear  his  profession 
with  the  vices  of  the  world  is  as  incongruous  as  it 
would  be  for  a  king  to  act  the  part  of  a  pimp  or  a 
buffoon.  "  He  that  hath  this  hope  purifieth  himself 
even  as  God  is  pure."  Your  citizenship  is  in  heaven. 
Act  as  though  that  citizenship  were  a  reality  and  not 
a  sham.  Actuated  by  such  a  hope,  men  ought  to 
surmount  all  difficulties.  With  such  a  goal  in  view 
they  ought  to  scale  mountains,  swim  oceans,  cross 
deserts,  quench  fire,  vanquish  storms,  put  fear  beneath 
their  feet,  challenge  death^  and  defy  the  powers  of 
the  grave.  Not  for  one  moment  should  their  courage 
be  dampened  or  their  zeal  abated,  not  even  by  the 
most  formidable  obstacles  which  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness can  interpose  between  them  and  their  prospect 
of  such  a  realization. 

Could  we  but  climb  where  Moses  stood, 

And  view  the  landscape  o'er, 
Not  Jordan's  stream,  nor  death's  cold  flood, 

Should  fright  us  from  the  shore. 

In  the  presence  of  such  a  hope  all  murmurings, 
complainings,  repinings,  ought  to  be  hushed  into  per- 
petual silence. 

This  life  is  but  an  infinitesimal  segment  of  the  soul's 
existence.     On  !    on  !    on  !    and  outward,  and  upward 


TRIBULATION    AND    ITS    FRUITS.  30I 

Stretches  the  immortal  life  of  man.  Embrace  in  your 
calculations  that  endless  existence,  the  glory  of  which 
will  augment  forever,  and  what  signify  our  present 
afflictions,  which  are  light  and  but  for  a  moment  ? 
They  no  more  disturb  the  great  sum  total  of  the 
spirit's  blessedness  than  the  vibration  of  a  gnat's 
wing  disturbs  the  depths  of  the  ocean. 

When  the  travel-worn  Israelite  found  himself  at  last 
in  Canaan,  plucking  the  grapes  of  Eshcol,  he  forgot 
the  trials  of  the  wilderness  and  blushed  that  he  should 
ever  have  complained.  And  if  the  sensation  of  shame 
can  be  felt  in  heaven,  the  Christian  will  blush  to 
remember  that,  with  such  a  hope  within  him  and  with 
such  a  prospect  before  him,  his  lips  ever  uttered,  or 
his  heart  ever  harbored,  a  murmur  or  a  complaint. 


VI. 

THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 


VI. 

THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST. 

''And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they  beheld,  he 
was  taken  tip  ;  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight. 

'"And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went 
up,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them  in  white  apparel ; 

"  Which  also  said.  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  7vhy  stand  ye  gazing  up 
into  heaven  ?  this  same  Jesus,  7vhich  is  taken  up  from  you  itito 
heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into 
heaven" — Acts  i.  9— ii. 

Brief  as  this  account  is,  it  is  the  longest  we  have  of 
the  ascension  of  the  Lord.  The  fact  is  so  grand  and 
subUme  that  it  had  no  need  to  be  put  on  the  stilts  of 
grandiloquent  language.  The  account  tells  us  in 
chaste,  simple  phraseology  all  that  it  is  necessary  for 
us  to  know. 

The  central  doctrine  here  is  the  ascension  of  the 
Lord.  This  is  the  stem,  the  trunk,  and  anything 
else  in  the  passage  belongs  to  the  trunk  as  branches 
belong  to  the  tree. 

Forty  days  after  his  resurrection  the  Son  of  God 
ascended  to  heaven  to  assume  the  universal  authority 
of  his  mediatorial  kingdom. 

This  was  a  real  transaction.  It  was  no  sham.  As 
his  incarnation,  death,  and  resurrection  were  real,  so 
was  his  ascension  real.  The  incarnate  Son  of  God 
in  his  theanthropic  Person  ascended  from  Olivet. 

305  ♦ 


3o6  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

The  reality  of  his  bodily  presence  he  demonstrated 
on  several  occasions  after  his  resurrection.  In  this 
body,  from  a  definite  locality,  within  full  and  satis- 
factory view  of  competent  witnesses,  he  gradually 
ascended  to  heaven.  The  same  Jesus  who  lived,  and 
died,  and  arose  on  earth,  ascended  to  and  now  reigns 
and  intercedes  on  high.  Although  removed  from 
their  sight  he  is  not  separated  from  his  people.  All 
his  human  interests,  attachments,  associations,  and 
sympathies  he  took  with  him.  A  whole  Christ  is  in 
heaven  on  the  mediatorial  throne.  His  interest  in 
his  people  is  as  undying  as  is  the  power  of  his 
eternal  life. 

He  went  up  from  a  definite  locality.  From  a  cer- 
tain hill-top  within  view  of  men  he  ascended  to  a 
place  where  his  glorified  body  now  is. 

It  was  necessary  that  Christ  should  thus  ascend 
because  : 

I.  He  carries  on  his  mediatorial  work  in  heaven. 
He,  as  their  Great  High  Priest,  intercedes  for  his 
people.  His  death  and  resurrection  instead  of  finish- 
ing his  work  only  fully  inaugurated  it.  His  redemp- 
tive sufferings  were  finished,  but  his  mediatorial  work 
was  only  fairly  begun.  He  ascended  to  heaven  to 
carry  it  on.  Within  view  of  the  scenes  of  his  agony 
and  crucifixion,  in  the  body  which  was  nailed  to  the 
cross,  he  went  up  to  further  advance  in  glory  the 
salvation  which  he  began  in  humiliation  and  suffer- 
ings. His  interest  in  the  results  of  his  earthly  mis- 
sion is  just  as  fresh  to-day  as  it  was  on  the  day  he 
passed  into  heaven.  In  his  glorified  humanity,  sus- 
ceptible of  being  "touched  with  a  feeling  of  our 
infirmities,"  he  prosecutes  his  work   on   high.     This 


'  THE    ASCENSION    OF    CHRIST.  307 

was  the  object  of  his  ascension.     "  He  ever  lives  to 
make  intercession  for  us." 

II.  It  was  necessary  that  he  should  ascend  in  order 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  should  be  given. 

To  his  sorrowing  disciples  Christ  said  :  "  It  is  ex- 
pedient for  you  that  I  go  away,  for  if  I  go  not  away 
the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you  ;  but  if  I 
depart  I  will  send  him  unto  you." 

This  was  the  divine  arrangement.  We  are  under 
the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  Christ  was  *'  exalted 
to  give  repentance  and  the  remission  of  sins."  The 
redemption  which  he  purchased  with  his  blood  must 
be  applied  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  thus  ascending  he 
was  making  another  step  in  the  progress  of  his  work. 
Instead  of  having  the  earth  as  the  centre  of  his 
achievements  he  has  the  throne  of  universal  empire  ; 
and  with  the  reins  of  dominion  in  his  hands,  and  all 
powers  and  Forces  at  his  service,  he  sheds  forth  on 
the  Church  the  gracious  influences  of  his  reign.  By 
his  precious  blood  Christ  purchased  our  redemption. 
But  Redemption  would  be  valueless  and  inefficacious 
if  it  were  not  applied.  The  application  thereof  is  the 
office  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  God  as 
really  as  the  Father  or  the  Son.  He  loves  sinners  as 
tenderly  as  Christ  does.  As  lovingly  as  the  Redeemer 
himself,  does  the  Holy  Ghost  deal  with  them.  So 
that  to  each  one  who  accepts  it,  this  redemption  is  as 
perfectly  applied  as  though  there  were  but  one  sinner 
on  earth  and  as  though  the  Trinity  had  no  other  work 
than  the  salvation  of  that  one  soul.  When  Christ  left 
the  earth  he  did  not  leave  his  work  unplanned.  All 
was  arranged.  From  the  universal  throne  down  to 
the  smallest  incident  which  concerns  a  child  of  God, 


3o8  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

everything  is  made  to  contribute  to  the  good  of  the 
Church.  In  all  those  vast  and  intricate  connections 
there  are  no  gaps.     The  system  is  a  harmonious  unit. 

III.  Again,  he  said  to  his  stricken  disciples  :  "  I  go 
to  prepare  a  place  for  you."  In  his  intercessory 
prayer  he  reveals  his  deep  interest  in  the  future  of  his 
people  when  he  says,  "  Father,  I  will  that  they  also 
whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with  me  where  I  am, 
that  they  may  behold  my  glory." 

He  has  gone  on  high  to  prepare  a  place  for  his 
people  ;  a  place  adapted  to  the  glorified  humanity  of 
believers.  What  that  preparation  is  who  can  tell  ! 
Enough  to  know  that  he  who  gave  his  life  a  ransom 
for  sinners  is  making  the  preparations.  And  while  he 
is  preparing  the  place  yonder  the  believer  is  being 
fitted  therefor  by  all  the  gracious  dealings  of  God 
toward  him. 

This  abode  which  Christ  is  preparing  for  his  people 
is  no  narrow  or  pent-up  habitation.  Lift  up  your 
thoughts  to  take  in  something  of  the  magnitude  of 
God's  works.  God's  thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts. 
Imagination  is  not  swift  enough  or  bold  enough  to 
reach  the  boundaries  of  the  universe.  The  telescope 
sweeps  a  circle  whose  diameter  is  twelve  million  years 
as  the  light  travels.  That  is,  it  would  take  a  ray  of 
light  twelve  million  years  to  cross  this  diameter. 
"  The  rays  which  reached  our  earth  last  night  from 
the  pole  star  started  forty-six  years  ago."  There  are 
orbs  within  that  telescopic  circle  from  which  light  that 
started  when  Moses  was  in  the  ark  of  bulrushes  is 
travelling  yet  and  has  not  reached  the  earth.  "  Could 
the  heavens  above  us  be  blotted  out,  w^e  should  con- 
tinue to  receive  light  for  thousands  of  years." 


THE    ASCENSION    OF    CHRIST.  3°9 

And  with  all  that,  how  feeble  and  inadequate  tele- 
scopic vision  is  !     That  which  it  reveals,  vast  as  .t  >s 
s  onlv  a  corner  of  the  universe.     Beyond  telescop  c 
ken.  there  are  systems  and  galaxies  of  systems  stretch- 
in./ away  to  distances  which  to  us  are  infimte.     Al 
Ihtt  we  know  of  the  universe  is  no  more  than  a  h ,  t 
and  a  suggestion  of  its  vastness  and  grandeur.     Th,s, 
however.ive  do  learn,  that  order  and  suborcu^a Uon 
reign    e;erywhere.     Planets    revolve     around    the.r 
suns  ;  suns  with  their  planets  revolve  around  othe 
centr  s  ;  galaxies  of  systems  move  in  rhythm  around 
higher  centr?s  ;  and  systems  of  galaxies  move  arotuid 
still  higher  centres.     We  are  justiaed  m  beUevmg  that 
■there  iL  common  centre,  and  capital,  an     metropol, 
of  all  ;  and  may  it  not  be  that  ,n  th,s  centre  Ch    st  is 
preparing  a  place  for  his  people  ?     Suppose  that  on 
t'hs  summit  of  the  universe  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  ,s 
builded,  and   that  the  glorified  sp,r,t   has   a   v,  ,on 
which  «n  sweep  and  take  in  all  that  ,s  below  that 
summit  -     such  a  place,  as  an  abode  f-  h'S  peop 
would  be   no   more   than  conformable  w,th  all   that 
Christ  has  done  to  render  them  capable  of  enpy.ng 
a  heavenly  inheritance.     Past  suns  -''^^f"  ^^^ 
galaxies,  attended  by  a  retmue  of  angels,  Cl.rst,     lead 
fng    captivity  captive,"   ascended   to   h,s     hrone   .n 
heaven      Where  he  is.  there  shall  his  people  be  a^sa 
Their   outlook   will   be   upon   the   universe.      The.r 
study  will  be  the  annals  of  God's  marvellous  works. 
Nothing  less  than  eternity  can  suffice  for  such  a  study 
God  is   great.      His  works  declare  h,m  so.      But 
we  have  mean  and  low  ideas  of  Him.     Th,s  earth  ,s 
only   a   pebble   amidst   the   magnitudes    around   us- 
Look  up  at  the  Milky  Way  at  night.     In  ,t  there  are 


3IO  OCCASIONAL  ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

eighteen  million  suns,  whirling  through  space  at  the 
rate  of  thirty  thousand  miles  a  minute.  We  count 
forty  miles  an  hour  fast.  The  sun  seems  to  us  large, 
and  so  it  is  ;  but  yonder  is  a  star  which  is  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  times  as  large  ;  and  yonder  another 
which  shines  with  the  power  of  twelve  thousand  suns 
like  ours. 

When  such  a  Creator,  with  such  resources  at 
hand,  undertakes  to  prepare  a  place  for  his  blood- 
bought  people,  what  will  that  place  be?  In  the  light 
of  these  facts  read  again  the  Saviour's  words,  "  I  go  to 
prepare  a  place  for  you." 

'  Having  thus  considered  the  main  fact,  let  us  give 
some  attention  to  two  or  three  incidental  matters. 

I.  He  continued  to  converse  with  his  disciples  to 
the  very  last.  "  When  he  had  spoken  these  things  " 
"  he  was  taken  up."  Luke  says  :  "  While  he  blessed 
them,  he  was  carried  up  into  heaven."  His  deep 
and  lively  interest  in  his  people  survived  his  suffer- 
ings. It  was  active  and  tireless  during  the  forty  days, 
and  as  he  ascended  he  shed  down  blessings  upon  his 
awe-struck  disciples.  He  is  just  as  near  to  his  people 
now  as  though  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  them,  bodily, 
as  he  stood  among  his  disciples  on  Olivet.  He  as 
really  blesses  them  as  though  the  blessings  were 
uttered  audibly  from  his  cloudy  chariot.  Our  faith  is 
dull  and  laggard  !  Unbelief  suggests  that  the  Being 
who  sits  as  ruler  among  all  these  magnificences, 
amidst  clustering  suns  and  marshalled  systems,  will 
not  stoop  to  notice  the  affairs  of  a  poor  sinner  on  this 
mean  ball  of  our  earth.  The  answer  is  that  Christ  is 
God  ;  and  God  no  more  neglects  the  unfolding  of  a 
corn  blade   than   he  neglects  the  revolving  of  suns. 


THE    ASCENSION    OF    CHRIST.  3II 

Witli  him  the  bottle  in  which  he  keeps  the  tears  of 
his  poor  saints  is  more  precious  than  a  world  blazing 
with  diamonds.  To  him  the  experiences  by  which 
holiness  is  developed  in  a  believing  heart  are  of  more 
interest  than  the  marshalled  glories  of  the  starry  host. 
A  pure  desire,  a  holy  emotion,  is  worth  more  than  a 
universe  of  material  splendor. 

2.  The  ascension  is  a  matter  of  history,  as  the 
resurrection  is.    • 

It  was  seen  by  competent  witnesses.  They  had 
conversed  with  him,  had  walked  with  him — and  they 
saw  him  ascend  from  the  midst  of  them.  They 
bore  united  testimony  to  the  fact.  Their  testi- 
mony has  been  sifted  by  an  infidel  world. 

Were  these  men  mistaken  ?  They  were  convinced 
of  the  resurrection  against  their  prepossessions. 
They  were  not  looking  for  such  an  event.  Neither 
were  they  expecting  the  ascension.  They  hoped  that 
Christ  would  remain  on  earth  and  establish  a  kingdom. 

Were  they  dishonest  ?  Why  should  they  die  in 
defence  of  a  lie  ?  Why  should  they  lay  down  their 
lives  for  an  impostor? 

3.  This  same  Jesus  shall  come  again  to  judgment. 
This  same  Jesus  !  He  changes  not.  As  God-man  he 
will  come  to  judge  the  world.  In  the  body  which 
was  scourged  and  crowned  with  thorns,  and  which 
was  nailed  to  the  cross,  he  will  sit  on  the  throne  of 
judgment.  All  nations  shall  be  gathered  before  him. 
''His  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom."  Amidst 
incessant  flux  and  change  our  faith  is  apt  to  give  way. 
But  through  all,  the  truth  and  righteousness  of  Christ's 
kingdom  remain,  and  will  remain  evermore.  Whatever 
betides,   the    "  foundation    of    God    standeth    sure." 


312  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

And  at  last,  right  under  the  gaze  of  this  same  Jesus, 
all  things  will  be  tried,  weighed,  and  judged.  Then, 
with  the  light  of  the  judgment  hour  streaming,  flash- 
ing through  all  cloaks,  shams,  and  disguises,  the  uni- 
verse will  see  the  transparent  hideousness  of  the  char- 
acter of  all  "  dogs,  and  sorcerers,  and  whoremongers, 
and  murderers,  and  idolaters,  and  whosoever  loveth 
and  maketh  a  lie." 

Live  for  that  day  !  Put  beneath  ^ur  feet  and  into 
the  dust  all  interests  and  theories  which  are  inconsis- 
tent with  the  eternal  principles  which  shall  then  decide 
all  issues  !  So  believe  and  live  that  you  can  on  that 
day  claim  the  king  as  your  friend  and  elder  brother — 
the  same  Jesus  in  whom  you  believe  and  whom  you 
serve. 

If  a  believer,  "  your  citizenship  is  in  heaven."  You 
are  a  sojourner  and  a  stranger  here.  Your  home  is 
yonder.  You  seek  a  "  city  which  hath  foundations." 
While  you  touch  the  earth  with  your  feet,  by  faith 
you  should  lay  your  hand  on  the  stars.  You  should 
"  seek  those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ 
sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God."  Your  lot  and  in- 
heritance are  there — among  the  grandeurs  and  mag- 
nificences of  the  metropolis  of  the  universe.  While 
you  walk  amidst  temporalities  your  faith  should  be 
familiar  with  spiritualities.  It  is  only  thus  that 
secular  callings  become  dignified.  The  commonest 
laborer  while  he  pursues  his  toil  may,  by  spiritual 
contemplation,  elevate  and  refine  his  nature.  While 
his  hand  digs,  his  spirit  soars.  The  man  who  thinks 
great  thoughts  lives  a  noble  life,  even  though  he  be  a 
bod-carrier  ;  and  he  who  thinks  mean  thoughts  is  an 
ignoble  man,  even  though  he  wear  the  royal  purple. 


THE    ASCENSION    OF    CHRIST.  313 

If  a  believer,  in  a  few  years  3'ou  will  be  a  king,  a 
priest  unto  God.     Be  content  with  your  lot  now. 

Think  of  the  place  which  Christ  is  preparing  for 
you,  and  be  careful  to  depart  from  all  iniquity.  Ye 
who  are  to  handle  crowns  and  sceptres,  soil  not  your 
hands  with  any  manner  of  uncleanness. 


VII. 
THE  GREAT  SALVATION. 


VII. 
THE   GREAT   SALVATION. 

''How  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation?" — 
Hebrews  ii.  3. 

The  apostle  is  not  speaking  here  of  the  greatness 
of  salvation  in  an  absolute  sense  ;  but  he  is  contrast- 
ing the  Law  and  the  Gospel — the  Mosaic  economy 
and  the  Christian  dispensation.  The  Law  was  given 
by  or  through  the.  mediation  of  angels.  Even  the 
Decalogue,  which  was  uttered  to  the  people  directly 
and  not  through  Moses  as  mediator,  was,  neverthe- 
less, given  through  the  mediation  of  angels.  But  the 
Gospel,  as  distinguished  from  the  Law,  was  delivered 
directly  by  Jesus  Christ.  According  to  this  view, 
then,  the  greatness  of  salvation  consists  in  this,  that 
it  was  spoken  to  us  directly  by  the  Son  of  God. 

The  argument  is  from  the  less  to  the  greater.  The 
word  spoken  by  angels  was  steadfast,  and  every 
transgression  and  disobedience  received  a  justrecom- 
pence  of  reward.  Sins  of  inattention,  sins  of  omis- 
sion, as  well  as  sins  of  commission,  were  condignly 
punished.  How,  then,  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect 
the  salvation  which  was  delivered  by  the  Son  of  God  ? 
This  does  not  array  the  Gospel  against  the  Law,  or 
the  Law  against  the  Gospel.  It  does  not  mean  that 
there  is  no  Gospel  in  the  Law,  or  that  there  is  no  Law 
in  the  Gospel ;  neither  does  it  destroy  the  unity  of  the 

3x7 


3l8  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

Bible.  Both  Law  and  Gospel  are  equally  the  Word  of 
God.  The  only  difference  is  that  in  the  one  case 
the  Word  came  to  man  mediately,  and  in  the  other 
immediately.  "  In  time  past  God  spake  unto  the 
fathers  by  the  prophets,  but  in  these  last  days  he  hath 
spoken  to  us  by  his  Son."  The  word  of  the  prophets 
is  as  really  the  Word  of  God  as  is  any  part  of  the 
New  Testament.  There  is  no  antagonism  between 
the  different  parts  of  the  Bible.  It  is  all  God's  Word. 
But  it  was  delivered  under  different  dispensations, 
and  our  responsibilities  are  awfully  increased  because 
in  these  last  times  we  have  received  the  Word  from  the 
lips  of  the  Son  of  God  himself. 
Two  topics  claim  attention,  viz.: 

I.  The  greatness  of  the  salvation. 

II.  The  greatness  of  our  consequent  responsi- 
bility. 

I.  The  greatness  of  this  salvation. 

As  already  seen,  this  consists  in  the  fact  that  the 
Gospel  was  spoken  by  the  Son.  Who,  then,  is  the  Son  ? 
(i)  What  is  he  as  described  by  Paul  ? 

(a)  He  is  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory. 
This  means  that  he  is  the  very  essence  of  the  Father, 
as  light  is  the  very  essence  of  the  sun.  He  is  not  a 
reflection  of  the  Father's  glory,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  very  effulgence  and  fulness  of  it,  the  manifestation 
of  that  glory  to  men.  He  thought  it  not  robbery  to 
be  equal  with  God. 

(I?)  '*  He  is  the  express  image  of  his  person." 

The  figure  here  is  that  of  a  stamp  or  die.  The 
impression  corresponds  exactly  to  the  image  on  the 
stamp.  The  son  is  the  express  image  of  the  Father's 
essence.     The  point  here  is  the  exact  correspondence 


THE    GREAT    SALVATION.  319 

of  the  two.  What  God  is  in  essence,  that  is  the  Son. 
Who,  then,  is  the  Son,  who  has  spoken  ?  He  is  God 
essentially  in  every  attribute.  This  is  undoubtedly 
what  the  apostle  wished  to  express,  and  he  has 
taxed  the  powers  of  language  to  put  it  into  phrase- 
ology which  cannot  be  misunderstood.  It  is  only  by 
exquisite  torturing  of  language  that  any  other  mean- 
ing can  be  made  even  to  appear  in  these  sentences. 

But  (2)  what  is  the  Son  described  as  doing  ?  What 
are  his  acts  and  prerogatives  ?  If  there  could  be 
any  doubt  as  to  his  nature  before,  there  certainly  can 
be  none  after  the  apostle  enumerates  his  works  and 
offices. 

(a)  He  is  heir  of  all  things.  Sonship  suggests 
heirship.  A  son  inherits  because  he  is  the  equal  of 
his  father.  Besides,  no  being  less  than  God  can  in- 
herit all  things  in  the  sense  in  which  the  heir  inherits 
here  ;  for,  as  we  shall  see,  inheritance  implies  uphold- 
ing and  ruling.  It  would  be  the  sheerest  and 
severest  mockery  to  put  such  an  inheritance  into  the 
hands  of  any  creature.  The  heir  to  such  an  estate 
must  be  God — God  in  essence,  God  in  every  attribute. 

(^)  But  beside  sonship,  there  is  another  ground  for 
this  heirship  ;  that  is,  creation.  "  By  whom,  also,  he 
made  the  worlds." 

John  says,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God. 
All  things  were  made  by  him  and  without  him  was 
not  anything  made  that  was  made. "  He  has  the  right, 
the  proprietorship,  which  arise  from  creation.  He 
has  made  the  worlds.  He  has  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  earth,  and  stretched  forth  the  heavens  as  a  tent. 
He  has  made  and  possesses  all  things.     He  who  was 


320  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor.  How  ineffably  rich, 
then,  was  he  as  Creator  and  heir  ! 

(c)  Unless  he  were  God  he  could  neither  possess 
nor  create  all  things.  But  as  if  to  remove  the  possi- 
bility of  doubt  the  apostle  adds  another  divine  pre- 
rogative :  "  Upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of  his 
power."  "  By  him  all  things  consist."  No  less  power 
is  required  to  sustain  than  to  create. 

In  essence,  in  act,  and  in  prerogative  the  Son  is 
God.  He  who  has  created  and  possesses  and  upholds 
all  things,  cannot  be  one  whit  less  than  God. 

{d)  But  this  Creator,  Possessor,  and  Upholder 
purged  our  sins.  This  involved  infinite  condescen- 
sion and  humiliation.  He  not  only  stooped  to  take 
upon  him  our  nature,  but  he  took  on  him  the  form  of 
a  servant,  emptied  himself,  became  of  no  reputation, 
and  "  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  cross." 

Now  we  can  understand  something  of  the  greatness 
of  this  salvation.  It  was  procured  by  the  Creator, 
Possessor,  and  Upholder  of  all  things,  and  at  the  cost 
of  his  incarnation,  humiliation,  sufferings,  and  death. 
By  him  was  this  salvation  spoken.  He  brought  the 
great  message  directly  to  men. 

(i)  He  spoke  with  infinite  authority,  because  he 
was  God,  having  infinite  power,  excellence,  and  pre- 
rogative. He  spoke,  too,  without  mediators  of  any 
kind;  standing  face  to  face  with  man. 

(2)  He  spoke  as  the  God-man  ;  in  his  human  na- 
ture ;  in  his  indescribably  glorious  mediatorial  Per- 
son ;  composed  of  perfect  divinity  and  complete 
humanity.  While  he  spoke  as  God  he  at  the  same 
time  spoke  in  the  sphere  and  on  the  plane  of  human- 


THE    GREAT    SALVATION.  32I 

ity.  While  it  seemed  to  be  one  man  speaking  with 
another,  it  was  God  speaking  with  all  divine  authority 
and  out  of  all  the  fulness  of  divine  wisdom. 

(3)  He  did  not  contradict  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures. He  did  not  nullify  what  had  been  said  and 
done  by  the  prophets  who  spake  to  the  fathers.  He 
did  not  destroy  the  Law,  but  fulfilled  it  to  the  utter- 
most. He  confirmed  all  that  had  been  hitherto 
revealed.  Indeed,  he  himself  was  the  fulfilment  of  it. 
So  that,  not  only  did  he  conserve  the  unity  of  revela- 
tion, but  he  was  the  most  perfect  realization  thereof. 
He  abolished  the  types  only  by  taking  the  place 
of  them,  and  of  all  that  they  prefigured.  All  these 
pointed  forward  to  him.  All  scattered  rays  concen- 
trated  in  him.  He  bound  all  the  parts  of  revelation 
together.  Types,  prophecies,  figures,  shadows,  and 
suggestions  all  met  in  him  ;  and  his  word  was  the 
completion  of  the  great  salvation.  His  word  was  the 
final,  the  consummate  word,  and  he  spoke  it  directly 
to  man. 

(4)  He  spoke  with  infinite  interest  and  sympathy, 
because  he  not  only  taught  this  salvation,  but  he  was 
himself  the  salvation.  Its  doctrines  and  hopes  were 
the  product  of  his  sufferings.  He  carried  the  whole 
system  in  his  own  person  on  the  cross,  and  brought  it 
in  triumph  with  him  from  the  sepulchre  of  Joseph  of 
Arimathea.  Never  was  there  such  a  teacher  as  this. 
"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man  !  "  How  philosophy 
pales  before  his  simple  utterances  of  truth — truth 
which  he  had  lived  and  which  he  had  vitalized  by  his 
death.  He  was  the  Truth,  and  he  directly  revealed 
himself  to  men. 

But  there  is  another  supreme  fact  which  enhances 


322  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

the  greatness  of  this  salvation,  viz.:  After  he  had 
purged  our  sins,  he  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  high.  To  that  exalted  position  he  took 
our  nature,  lifting  it  far  above  angel  and  seraph,  and 
associating  it  with  divinity  on  the  universal  throne. 
And  such  was  the  completeness  of  the  finished  work 
which  he  had  engaged  in  covenant  to  do,  that  it  is  in 
infinite  consistence  with  divine  right  that  he  should, 
in  his  complex  person,  occupy  this  exalted  place.  And 
in  the  same  line  of  consistency  and  congruity  he  has 
received  a  name  which  is  above  every  name — a  name 
which  will  be  known  fully  only  when  mysteries  which 
are  now  unfathomable  shall  be  revealed  in  eternity. 
But  this  name  belongs  to  him,  not  as  the  son  of  God 
simply,  not  as  God  simply,  not  as  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords,  but  as  God-man,  as  Redeemer,  Saviour 
of  sinners. 

This  Son  of  God,  in  the  ineffable  excellence  of  his 
character,  and  in  the  fulness  of  his  covenant  relations 
and  achievements,  spoke  this  salvation  to  men.  He 
committed  the  final  and  complete  delivery  of  it  to  no 
mediators,  but  spoke  it  directly  himself.  In  this  con- 
sists the  greatness  of  it.     How  great  is  this  salvation  ! 

Another  element  contributes  to  the  greatness  of 
this  salvation,  and  that  is  this  :  Whatever  by  his 
life  and  sufferings  Christ  secures,  he  secures  not  for 
himself  but  for  his  people.  He  leaves  his  peace  with 
them.  He  gives  his  righteousness  to  them.  He 
sends  the  Comforter  to  them.  He  rises  from  the  dead 
and  becomes  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  sleep.  If  he 
is  exalted  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high  it 
is  that  his  people  may  be  kings  with  him.  He  carries 
his  people  still  in  covenant.     What  is  his,  therefore, 


THE    GREAT    SALVATION.  323 

is  theirs.  He  became  poor  that  we  might  be  made 
rich.  He  humbled  himself  that  along  the  path  of 
his  humiliation  we  might  rise  to  the  Majesty  on  high. 
Oh,  great  salvation  ! 

He  who  is  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  and 
the  express  image  of  his  person  ;  who  is  Creator,  Pos- 
sessor, and  Upholder  of  all  things,  in  our  nature 
purged  our  sins,  and  as  God-man — very  God  and 
very  man,  the  antitype  of  all  types,  with  infinite  inter- 
est and  sympathy,  being  himself  the  embodiment  of 
all  his  doctrines — spake  this  salvation  to  men  directly. 
Dispensing  with  all  types  and  figures  and  shadows  of 
good  things  to  come  he  spake  face  to  face  with  men, 
and  revealed  in  his  own  person  the  infinite  riches  of 
divine  grace.  As  God-man  he  bears  a  name  which 
is  above  every  name  ;  and  when  that  name  shall  be 
revealed  it  will  reflect  glory  upon  the  redeemed.  Oh, 
great  salvation  ! 

II.  I  have  left  myself  little  time  to  speak  of  the 
greatness  of  our  responsibility  in  regard  to  this  sal- 
vation. 

But  surely  this  subject  carries  in  it  and  with  it  its 
own  application.  Neglect  of  the  Mosaic  law  was 
punished  condignly  ;  how  much  more  shall  neg- 
lect of  the  Gospel  be  punished  !  There  is  law  in 
the  Gospel  as  surely  as  there  was  Gospel  in  the  Law. 
This  Gospel  was  wrought  out  and  was  spoken  by  the 
Lord,  and  the  government  of  the  universe  is  admin- 
istered by  him  in  order  to  the  complete  success  of 
the  scheme.  He  tenders  it  thus  wrought  out  to  men. 
He  sends  his  Spirit  to  recommend  and  apply  it,  and 
men  neglect  it.  Could  a  greater  insult  be  offered  to 
the  Almighty  ?     It  is  not  optional  with  men  whether 


324  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

they  accept  the  Gospel  or  no.  The  overtures  of 
mercy  to-day  are  as  direct  and  personal  to  each  one 
as  though  the  incarnate  Son  of  God  stood  face  to  face 
with  him  and  himself  made  the  offer.  Believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  confess  him  before  men  ;  this 
is  the  law  on  the  subject.  The  supreme  sin  is  unbe- 
lief. It  is  for  this  that  men  are  condemned.  "  He 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  In  the  presence 
of  this  great  salvation  and  the  Author  of  it,  of  what 
avail  are  your  excuses  ?  You  have  never  found  a 
time  when  it  was  exactly  convenient  to  confess  Christ  ? 
Making  a  way  of  salvation  possible  involved  the  humil- 
iation and  crucifixion  of  the  Creator,  Possessor,  and 
Sustainer  of  all  things  ;  yet  you  act  toward  that  salva- 
tion as  you  would  not  act  in  reference  to  a  trivial 
business  transaction.  It  is  this  neglect,  this  wilful, 
wanton,,  sinful  neglect  of  salvation  which  is  ruining 
souls  by  the  million.  It  is  the  memory  of  this  neg- 
lect which  will  constitute  the  undying  worm  and  the 
quenchless  fire  of  hell,  and  the  remembrance  of 
slighted  opportunities  will  be  fuel  to  feed  the  fire 
eternally.  To  neglect  this  salvation  is  to  despise  the 
riches  of  God's  grace.  If  we  could  see  the  whole 
case  in  its  reality,  we  would  as  soon  think  of  cursing 
the  Almighty  to  his  face  as  of  neglecting  this  salva- 
tion by  even  an  hour's  delay. 

From  first  to  last  the  work  of  Christ  contemplates 
and  aims  at  the  elevation  and  exaltation  of  the  indi- 
vidual believer  and  of  human  nature.  The  destina- 
tion of  the  weakest  believer  is  the  right  hand  of  his 
exalted  and  glorified  Lord  in  the  heavens.  Through 
Christ  is  the  line  of  promotion  for  humanity.  The 
aim,  the  spirit,  the  tendency  of  this  salvation  is  to  lift 


THE    GREAT    SALVATION.  325 

up  and  to  carry  forward  the  subjects  of  it  until  they 
shall  sit  with  Christ  on  his  throne.  Where  Christ  is, 
there  shall  they  be  also.  He  will  withhold  from  them 
nothing  which  they  can  use  to  edification  and  enjoy. 
Not  only  may  we  say,  **  How  shall  we  escape,  if  we 
neglect  so  great  salvation  ? "  but  also,  How  shall  we 
escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  privilege  and  oppor- 
tunity ?  Cast  not  from  you  wantonly  such  an  oppor- 
tunity this  morning  !  He  who  is  in  Christ  Jesus  by 
faith  is  not  only  on  his  way  to  heaven,  but  through 
grace  he  is  on  his  way  to  a  crown,  and  a  throne,  and 
a  kingdom,  and  to  an  eternal  association  with  the 
exalted  and  glorified  humanity  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  How  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  salva- 
tion ? " 


VIII. 
CALEB  AND   THE  ANAKIM. 


VIII. 
CALEB  AND   THE  ANAKIM. 

''Then  the  children  of  Jiidah  came  unto  Joshua  in  Gilgal :  and 
Caleb  the  son  of  Jephunneh  the  Kenezite  said  unto  him,"  etc. — 
Joshua  xiv.  6-15. 

Caleb  is  first  mentioned  in  the  sacred  history  as 
one  of  the  twelve  spies  who  were  sent  into  Canaan 
from  Kadesh-Barnea  in  the  second  year  after  the 
Exodus.  Ten  of'  those  spies  brought  in  an  evil 
report  which  greatly  disheartened  the  people.  They 
acknowledged,  indeed,  that  the  country  was  a  most 
desirable  one  ;  but  at  the  same  time  they  declared 
that  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  its  conquest  were 
insurmountable.  In  view  of  these  they  quite  lost 
their  faith  and  almost  lost  their  senses  too.  They 
were  frightened  out  of  their  wits  by  a  few  tall  speci- 
mens of  Anakim  which  they  saw.  Then  Caleb  stood 
nobly  forth  and  stilled  the  people  and  said  :  "  Let  us 
go  up  at  once  and  possess  the  land,  for  we  are  well 
able  to  overcome  it."  He  and  Joshua  alone  were  in 
favor  of  an  immediate  invasion.  Then  and  there  the 
Lord  promised  an  inheritance  in  Canaan  to  these  two 
men.  All  the  rest  of  that  generation,  from  twenty 
years  old  and  upward,  were  doomed  to  fall  in  the 
wilderness. 

Some  thoughts  appropriate  to  the  time  and  the 
occasion  may  be  deduced  from  this  passage  of  sacred 
history. 

329 


330  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

I.  As  we  pass  along  the  journey  of  life  our  friends 
and  companions  drop  by  the  way,  so  that  in  old  age 
we  shall  be  almost  alone  in  respect  of  those  who 
started  in  life  with  us.  Of  the  adult  generation  which 
came  out  of  Egypt  only  Caleb  and  Joshua  remained. 
Aaron,  the  high-priest,  had  died  on  Mount  Hor ; 
Moses  had  died  on  Pisgah  ;  Miriam,  who  sang  the 
response  to  the  Song  of  Moses  at  the  Red  Sea  ;  Aho- 
liab  and  Bezaleel,  the  architects  of  the  tabernacle  ; 
the  Levites  who  first  bore  the  tabernacle  ;  the 
elders  who  assisted  Moses,  and  Hobab  who  accom- 
panied them,  all  were  gone.  A  new  generation  had 
succeeded.  During  these  forty-five  years  how  many 
ties  had  been  sundered  !  What  vicissitudes  had  been 
experienced  !  Caleb  had  been  emancipated  from 
slavery  ;  he  had  seen  the  plagues  of  Egypt — the  Nile 
rolling  blood,  the  darkness  which  could  be  felt — he 
had  heard  the  lamentations  of  Egypt  when  her  first- 
born were  smitten  ;  he  had  heard  the  thunders  of 
Sinai  ;  he  had  been  in  the  desert  forty  years.  But  he 
was  now  in  the  Promised  Land. 

During  these  forty-five  years  change  had  marked 
every  step  of  his  way  ;  yet  we  now  find  him  just 
where  he  was  forty-five  years  before — in  the  path 
of  duty.  He,  in  this  respect,  had  not  changed. 
Times  had  changed,  but  he  had  not  changed  with 
them.  His  conduct  was  not  governed  by  caprice,  or 
policy,  or  expediency,  but  by  principle.  It  was  this 
which  gave  him  steadiness  and  poise  and  persever- 
ance. Had  he  consulted  (lis  popularity,  he  would 
have  countenanced  the  clamors  of  the  crowd  at 
Kadesh-Barnea.  But  right  in  the  teeth  of  such  mur- 
murings  he  said  :  ''  Let   us  go   up  at  once."     The 


CALEB    AND    THE    ANAKIM.  331 

lapse  of  half  a  century  makes  no  change  in  such  a 
man.  There  is  no  sublimer  thing  on  earth  than  a  life 
like  that.  What  wonderful  consistency  of  character  ! 
At  forty  he  says,  "  Let  us  go  up  at  once  and  take 
Canaan."  At  eighty-five  he  says,  "  Give  me  the  very 
citadel  of  the  Anakim,  and  by  the  help  of  the  Lord  I 
will  take  it." 

Although  he  had  seen  all  his  own  generation  buried 
except  one  man,  he  had  not  become  morose  or  misan- 
thropic. He  lived  in  the  present  and  for  the  future. 
He  used  the  past  only  as  a  means  of  strengthening 
his  faith  and  as  an  incentive  to  duty. 

This  is  the  true  spirit.  As  old  ties  are  sundered 
we  should  form  new  ones.  We  should  never  become 
alienated  from  the  society  or  age  in  which  we  live. 

As  our  companions  fall  by  the  way  we  are  tempted 
to  say,  ''There  is  nothing  more  to  live  for."  But 
there  is  enough  to  live  for  so  long  as  duty  is  to  be 
done — so  long  as  there  are  a  present  and  a  future,  in 
which  and  for  which  to  act. 

As  we  increase  in  years,  one  by  one,  we  are  becom- 
ing a  minority  which  is  growing  smaller  and  smaller, 
and  we  are  hastening  on  to  join  "  the  great  majority." 
Only  Caleb  and  Joshua  now  remained  of  their  genera- 
tion, and  a  few  years  later  Caleb  stood  alone. 

Thirteen  years  ago  this  morning  I  began  my  labors 
in  this  church.  What  a  remnant  of  my  first  congre- 
gation is  left !  What  a  small  audience  that  remnant 
would  form  !  And  yet  how  short  a  time  it  is!  It 
seems  to  me  but  yesterday.  I  remember  the  morning, 
the  people,  the  sermon  as  distinctly  as  the  events  of 
last  week.  Yet  since  then  we  have  passed  through 
an  awful  war.     Since  then  children  that  I  baptized 


332  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

have  grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  Great 
changes  have  taken  place  here  and  elsewhere.  In 
this  church  I  have  associated  with  eleven  men  in  the 
eldership.  Five  of  these  are  no  more.  The  godly 
Robert  Scott,  the  kind  Uncle  Dickson,  the  urbane 
Tower,  the  beloved  young  elder  Gray,  and  the 
lamented  and  honored  Brown — these  all  are  gone 
from  the  session.  About  one  hundred  of  the  member- 
ship have  died  in  the  same  time — one  hundred — a 
silent  congregation  ! 

II.  God's  promises  are  not  impaired  by  age.  They 
are  good  for  all  periods  of  life. 

In  this  case  forty-five  years  intervened  between  the 
promise  and  the  fulfilment  of  it.  But  during  no  day,  or 
hour,  or  moment  of  all  this  time  had  that  promise  lost 
its  vitality  or  its  validity.  It  was  just  as  good  in  the 
darkest  day  of  all  these  years  as  it  was  on  the  day  that 
Caleb  took  possession  of  Hebron.  We  grow  old,  but 
God's  promises  do  not  grow  old.  If  we  continue  in 
the  path  of  duty  as  did  Caleb,  we  need  have  no  more 
doubt  of  the  fulfilment  of  God's  promises  than  of 
God's  existence.  Towering  difificulties  lay  between 
this  promise  and  its  fulfilment.  The  desert  was  to  be 
traversed.  Nations  and  kings  were  to  be  conquered. 
A  fordless  river  was  to  be  crossed  without  boat  or 
bridge.  Walled  towns  were  to  be  taken  without  bat- 
tering-ram or  scaling-ladder.  But  Caleb  did  not 
doubt  nor  fear  nor  murmur.  He  went  straight  to 
duty  and  stuck  right  at  it,  never  questioning  God's 
ways  or  God's  times. 

In  our  view  the  providence  of  God  often  seems  to 
be  working  directly  in  the  face  of  his  promise.  Caleb 
was  given  the  assurance  of  an  inheritance  in  the  land, 


CALEB    AND    THE    ANAKIM.  333 

and  yet  it  was  declared  in  the  same  connection  that 
that  generation  should  fall  in  the  wilderness.  He  was, 
indeed,  to  have  his  inheritance,  but  it  would  be  after 
forty-five  years  of  waiting.  He  was  to  reach  Canaan, 
but  it  was  to  be  by  the  way  of  the  wilderness.  Thus 
God's  people  often  reach  their  inheritance,  through 
wanderings  ;  but  God  leads  them  in  the  right  way. 
Abraham  waited— Isaac  waited— Jacob  waited.  It  is 
not  strange  that  you  should  have  to  await  God's  time. 
Man  would  go  to  the  inheritance  by  the  shortest  cut, 
but  God's  way  is  through  the  wilderness.  Though 
deserts  and  rivers  and  enemies  and  impregnable  walls 
intervene  God's  word  holds  good,  and  God's  provi- 
dence moves  forward  toward  the  accomplishment  of 
the  promise.  God's  pledge  and  providence  harmo- 
nize, God  prepares  his  people  for  their  inheritance. 
Promises  ripen  to  their  fulfilment,  and  we  ripen  to  the 
reception  of  them.  If  we  are  not  prepared  for 
them,  they  will  prove  a  bane  instead  of  a  blessing. 

III.  A  life  of  faith  and  of  virtuous  obedience 
always  receives  its  reward. 

The  reward  was  pledged  to,  and  bestowed  upon 
Caleb,  ''  because  he  wholly  followed  the  Lord."  At 
Kadesh-Barnea  he  spoke  a  brave  word  for  the  Lord, 
and  forty-five  years  afterward  he  received  an  inheri- 
tance which  was  at  once  a  recognition  of  and  a  recom- 
pense for  his  services.  Thus  a  good  action  faithfully 
performed  never  loses  its  requital.  This  will  come 
in  some  way  or  another  and  at  some  time  or  another. 
Goliath's  sword  turned  up  to  the  hand  of  David  just 
when  it  could  render  him  the  most  efficient  service. 

While  this,  which  has  just  been  said,  is  true,  I 
would    have    you    remember    another    fact — he    did 


334  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

not  do  duty  for  hire.  He  did  his  duty  for  its  own 
sake,  and  he  would  have  done  it  as  faithfully  if  there 
had  been  no  reward  attached.  Nor  did  he  go  about 
making  long  faces,  and  uttering  loud  complaints  be- 
cause the  compensation  was  not  forthcoming.  Had  he 
been  of  the  spirit  of  a  great  many  men,  he  would  have 
been  continually  grumbling  :  ''  The  Lord  has  prom- 
ised me  an  inheritance  in  Canaan  yonder  ;  and  here 
I  am  dragged  hither  and  thither  in  this  desert  with 
this  rebellious  generation."  He  did  not  work  in  the 
Lord's  vineyard  for  wages,  or  for  honor,  or  for  con- 
spicuous places.  He  quietly  did  his  duty,  and  in  due 
time  remuneration  and  honor  came. 

Duty  faithfully  performed  has  a  richer  reward  than 
a  heritage  in  Canaan.  The  inheritance  comes  to  us 
as  happiness  comes  ;  that  is,  indirectly  and  without 
our  seeking  it.  Let  anyone  set  out  to  be  happy,  and 
the  very  thing  that  he  seeks  will  elude  him.  It  will 
not  be  wooed.  But  let  the  same  person  set  out  to  do 
right,  to  help  others,  to  do  good,  and  lo  !  before  he 
knows  it,  happiness  becomes  a  guest  in  his  heart  and 
his  home.  So  it  is  with  our  reward.  If  we  work  for 
it,  we  shall  not  get  it ;  but  if  we  do  our  duty  without 
reference  to  it  we  shall  certainly  receive  it  in  due 
time — that  is  in  God's  time  and  in  God's  way.  It 
may  be  after  a  desert  pilgrimage  of  forty-and-five 
years. 

IV.  Let  youth  be  so  spent  that  one  can  look  back 
upon  it  with  pleasant  reminiscences,  and  that  old  age 
may  be  enriched  and  honored  by  the  rewards  which 
always  attach  to  an  early  service  of  the  Creator. 

With  what  a  glow  of  generous  satisfaction  Caleb 
could  refer  to  his  youthful  conduct,  which  had  been 


CALEB    AND    THE    ANAK.IM.  335 

approved  by  Moses,  the  man  of  God,  forty-and- 
five  years  before  !  With  pride  he  could  recall  to 
Joshua's  remembrance  his  life  as  a  young  man  : 
"  Then  he  wholly  followed  the  Lord."  Even  before 
the  first  mention  of  him,  and  before  his  first  recorded 
service,  he  had  made  a  reputation  for  himself.  If  this 
had  not  been  the  case,  he  would  not  have  been  sent  as 
one  of  the  spies.  In  the  conscientious  discharge  of 
duty  he  had  won  the  confidence  of  Moses  and  of  the 
congregation.  Of  these  first  forty  years  of  his  life, 
history  gives  us  no  particulars.  But  we  can  easily 
and  safely  infer  their  general  character.  Into  such 
positions  as  Caleb  occupied  men  are  not  put  by 
chance.  These  are  won  by  a  steady,  conscientious 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  whatsoever  post  is  assigned 
a  man  in  the  providence  of  God.  Joseph  in 
Pharaoh's  prison  made  a  reputation  which  carried 
him  to  the  second  place  in  the  land  of  Egypt.  Dis- 
charge well  the  duties  of  the  position  which  you  are 
already  in,  before  you  aspire  to  a  higher  one.  Do 
not  spend  your  time  and  sour  your  temper  by  regret- 
ting that  you  are  not  appreciated,  or  that  you  have  no 
sphere  for  the  exercise  of  your  faculties.  "  Whatso- 
ever thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might." 
Ten  to  one  your  sphere  is  larger  than  your  capabilities. 
Surely  you  have  as  good  a  chance  as  Joseph  had  when 
he  was  in  Pharaoh's  prison.  A  virtuous  youth  will 
carry  its  rewards  even  to  old  age.  Faithful  conduct 
which  seems  to  go  unrequited  will  surely  receive  its 
due  recompense,  even  though  half  a  century  elapse  ; 
and  a  youth  spent  in  idleness  or  vice  will  as  certainly 
entail  evil  and  curse  and  misery.  Would  to  God  this 
thought  might  be  written  with  the  point  of  a  diamond 


^;^6  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

on  the  heart  of  every  young  person  here  this  morn- 
ing !  So  spend  your  early  days  that  you  can  look 
back  upon  them  with  pleasure  and  can  say  to  others, 
as  Caleb  said  to  Joshua,  *'  You  remember  what  I  did 
forty  and  five  years  ago." 

V.   Let  old  age  be  active. 

Caleb  had  an  active,  green  old  age.  He  had  seen 
a  great  deal  of  hard  service,  yet  he  was  not  worn  out, 
nor  had  he  rusted  out.  At  eighty-five  he  was  as 
strong  as  he  was  at  forty.  He  was  ready,  and  eager 
too,  for  further  exploits.  He  does  not  say  to  Joshua, 
"  I  am  now  old,  I  have  borne  the  burden  and  the 
heat  of  the  day  ;  let  me  retire,  and  let  younger  men 
conquer  my  inheritance  in  the  land."  But  he  asks  that 
Joshua  give  him  the  mountain  where  the  Anakim 
dwelt,  the  appearance  of  whom  had  so  demoralized 
the  ten  spies.  These  giants  dwelt  in  fenced  cities  on 
a  mountain  fastness,  but  the  old  hero  covets  the  task 
of  conquering  them.  The  same  spirit  is  in  him  that 
was  in  him  nearly  half  a  century  before.  He  says  : 
"  If  so  be  that  the  Lord  will  be  with  me,  then  I  shall 
be  able  to  drive  them  out."  And  this  he  did.  He 
drove  out  the  children  of  Anak. 

This  is  a  model  old  age.  Far  too  soon  men  begin 
to  say,  "  I  am  growing  old."  By  saying  so  and  think- 
ing so  they  make  themselves  old.  If  the  body  must 
age,  that  is  no  reason  why  the  mind  and  heart  should 
partake  of  its  infirmities.     Let  them  be  kept  young. 

As  men  approach  the  three-score  years  they  be- 
come timid  about  undertaking  new  enterprises  for 
Christ.  They  gradually  put  off  the  armor,  and  go 
upon  the  retired  list  or  upon  the  superannuated  list. 
Not  thus  do  men  give  up  the  race  for  riches.     Van- 


CALEB    AND    THE    ANAKIM.  337 

derbilt,  who  is  over  eighty,  still  keeps  a  sharp  eye  on 
his  fifty  millions.  Astor  and  Stewart,  both  old  men, 
are  carrying  heavier  financial  burdens  than  ever.* 
Why  then  should  men  crave  exemption  from  the 
service  of  Christ  because  of  advancing  years  ? 
Neither  should  they  seek  or  covet  light  service. 
Like  old  Caleb  they  should  attack  the  Anakim  in 
their  strongholds. 

The  Church  is  shorn  of  about  one-half  her  strength 
by  men's  making  themselves  prematurely  old.  It 
mattered  little  to  Caleb,  at  his  age,  whether  he  pos- 
sessed Hebron  or  not,  but  with  a  large  vision  and  a 
large  heart  he  acted  for  the  future  ;  not  for  himself, 
but  for  posterity.     Do  thou  likewise. 

Caleb  spoke  these  words  on  the  anniversary  of  his 
birth  :  "  Lo,  I  am  this  day  fourscore  and  five  years 
old."  Instead  of  looking  back  complacently  on  the 
past  and  resting  satisfied  with  it,  he  is  forming  large 
plans  for  the  future — imposing  upon  himself  an 
enterprise  more  hazardous  than  any  he  had  ever  under- 
taken. 

This  is  an  anniversary  with  us.  How  shall  we 
accept  the  future  ?  Are  we  ready  to  undertake  large 
enterprises  for  the  Master  ?  Are  we  ready  to  attack 
the  strongholds  of  Satan,  even  though  they  be  held 
by  the  very  Anakim  of  iniquity  !  Brethren,  we  have 
been  resting  on  what  has  been  done  as  though  the 
whole  land  had  been  conquered.  Oh,  that  the  spirit, 
the  courage,  the  devotion,  of  the  aged  Caleb  might 
incite  each  one  of  us  ! 

Better  have  Gideon's  three  hundred  than  an  army 
of  thirty  thousand  who  have  no  heart  for  the  fight. 
"  This  sermon  was  preached  in  1874. — Eds. 


^S^  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

My  hearers,  what  lesson,  what  inspiration,  has  this 
anniversary  for  us  ?  Shall  we  not  ask  the  Lord  to  as- 
sign US  to  some  arduous  and  hazardous  enterprise  for 
his  cause  and  for  his  dear  sake?  How  was  Hebron 
taken — the  nest  in  the  rocks  of  the  Anakim  ?  By  old 
and  young  marching  against  it ;  Caleb,  who  was  nearly 
ninety,  leading  the  columns.  In  this  land,  which  lies 
around  us,  we  have  a  large  inheritance,  if  we  only  have 
faith  to  receive  it. 


IX. 

FAREWELL   SERMON. 


IX. 

FAREWELL  SERMON.* 

''N'ow  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  again  frorn  the  dead  cur 
Lord  Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood 
of  the  everlasting  covenant, 

''  Make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  his  tvill,  working  in 
YOU  that  which  is  well-pleasing  iti  his  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ; 
to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Allien." — Hebrews  xiii. 
20,   21. 

I  SHALL  not  preach  an  historical  or  a  statistical  ser- 
mon this  morning,  although  the  materials  for  such  a 
sermon  are  abundant  and  inviting.  In  working  up 
these  materials  there  would  be  inevitably  more  or  less 
of  apparent  egotism,  and  this  I  desire  to  avoid. 

The  text  is  the  benediction  of  the  great  apostle 
upon  the  Hebrew  Christians,  in  whom  he  had  so  great 
an  interest,  and  for  whom  he  felt  so  deep  and  so  ten- 
der a  sympathy.  By  faith  he  seems  to  open  the  treas- 
ures of  divine  love  and  grace,  and  with  an  unstinted 
hand  to  pour  these  blessings,  in  all  their  fulness,  upon 
the  heads  of  those  for  whom  he  had  labored  and 
prayed.  These  wonderful  blessings  are  not  peculiar 
to  the  Hebrew  Christians,  but  are  the  common  inheri- 
tance of  all  the  people  of  God  in  all  ages  of  the  world. 
And  what  an  inheritance  it  is  to  the  Church,  and  to 
each  member  of  that  Church  ! 

I.  The  God  of  peace  as  a  Father. 

*  On  retiring  from  the  pastorate,  December  31,  1876, 
341 


342  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

II.  The  risen,  the  ascended,  the  glorified  Saviour 
as  a  pastor. 

III.  The  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant  as  a 
charter  of  right,  of  privilege,  and  of  salvation. 

IV.  Perfection  in  every  good  work  as  the  aim  of 
human  life. 

V.  The  sufficiency  of  Christ  as  an  unfailing  re- 
course in  all  labor  and  trial. 

VI.  And  as  the  end  of  all,  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Let  us  notice  briefly  these  points  : 

I.  You  have  the  God  of  peace  as  your  Father. 
Through  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  God  the  Father 
is  reconciled.  He  is  at  peace  with  the  believing  soul. 
Not  sullenly,  not  reluctantly  or  grudgingly  does  the 
Father  accept  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  as  a  satisfac- 
tion, as  an  atonement  ;  not  coldly  or  perfunctorily 
does  he  come  mto  relations  of  peace  and  reconciliation 
with  the  sinner,  but  the  moment  that  the  soul  accepts 
by  faith  the  finished  work  of  Christ,  all  past  sins  are 
forgotten  forever.  They  are  blotted  out.  They  are 
cast  into  the  depths  of  the  sea.  They  are  all  covered 
by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  even  the  eye  of  divine  jus- 
tice can  discover  no  sin  through  or  beneath  that 
blood.  The  sinner  then  stands  in  the  righteousness 
of  Christ,  and  as  the  Father  loves  the  Son  so  does  he 
love  those  for  whom  the  Son  died.  With  divine  com- 
placency he  regards  those  who  through  faith  accept 
the  benefits  of  the  death  of  Christ,  and  who  have 
wrapped  around  them  the  robe  of  the  righteousness 
of  Christ.  He  is  at  peace  with  them,  and  to  them  he 
is  the  very  God  of  peace.  So  profound  is  this  peace, 
so  solid  and  enduring,  so  secured  against  all  risk  of 
disturbance  and  loss,  that  to  the  quickened  vision  of 


FAREWELL    SERMON.  343 

the  believing  soul  God  appears  as  the  God  of  peace. 
The  blessed  and  overwhelming  fact  of  reconciliation 
becomes  conspicuous  and  pre-eminent. 

Nor  does  the  Father  with  judicial  coldness  pro- 
nounce the  acquittal  of  the  sinner  and  then  retire 
within  his  own  infinite  sufficiency,  and  leave  that  jus- 
tified sinner  to  fight  his  battles  single-handed  and 
unaided,  but  he  rests  not  until,  through  the  Holy 
Spirit,  he  has  established  intimate  and  confidential 
relations  with  that  soul.  He  not  only  makes  recon- 
ciliation a  fact,  but  he  makes  it  an  experience. 
Through  his  Word  and  by  his  Spirit  he  so  exhibits  his 
love,  and  compassion,  and  condescension,  and  sym- 
pathy, and  faithfulness  that  the  believer  is  constrained 
to  cry,  "Abba,  Father."  Not  only  is  the  peace  an 
established  fact,  but  this  fact  is  made  manifest  in  the 
experience  of  the  believer,  and  it  is  a  "  peace  which 
passeth  all  understanding."  It  is  no  fictitious  peace  ; 
it  is  no  hollow  truce  ;  it  rests  on  no  uncertain  condi- 
tions, on  no  shifting  foundations.  It  rests  on  the  per- 
fectly adjusted  relations  between  God  and  the  soul  ; 
and  in  the  adjustment  of  these  relations  nothing  has 
been  overlooked  or  omitted  which  could,  in  any  way, 
or  to  any  degree,  contribute  to  the  perfection  and  ever- 
lasting security  of  this  peace.  The  sinner  looks  over 
his  past  life — over  the  dark  past  it  may  be — but  with 
unspeakable  joy  he  sees  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus  cov- 
ering it  all  ;  he  looks  into  his  evil  and  corrupt  heart, 
but  he  sees  the  blood  of  Christ  cleansing  from  all  sin  ; 
he  looks  tremblingly  into  the  unknown  future,  but  he 
hears  the  voice  of  Christ,  who  ever  lives  to  make  inter- 
cession, cheering  him  onward.     It  is  perfect  peace. 

But  as  doctrine  does  not  rest  in  theory,  but  when 


344  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

received  produces  experience,  so  experience  does  not 
remain  in  the  region  of  the  affections,  but  produces 
practical  results.  This  peace  in  the  heart  makes  its 
warmth  felt  on  others.  The  reflex  of  love  to  God  is 
love  to  man  ;  and  so  the  reflex  of  peace  with  God  is 
peace  with  our  fellow-man.  The  legend  is  that  when 
the  Apostle  John  was  so  old  and  feeble  that  he  had  to 
be  carried  to  church  he  would  repeat  again  and  again 
the  injunction,  as  he  was  borne  up  the  aisle  :  **  Little 
children,  love  one  another."  This  was  his  last  ser- 
mon— his  dying  testimony. 

Remember  that  the  God  of  peace  is  your  God  and 
Father.  "  Let  brotherly  love  continue."  For  the  last 
fifteen  years  we  have  dwelt  together  in  peace.  We 
have  not  spent  our  time  in  biting  and  devouring  one 
another.  Through  the  grace  of  God  we  have  found 
enough  to  do  without  that.  We  have  found  enough 
to  do  in  fighting  Satan  and  in  battling  for  the  truth 
and  the  right.  There  has  been  scarcely  a  jar  in  the 
congregation  in  these  fifteen  years,  and  in  the  session 
there  has  not  been  even  a  jar  ;  and  truer  brotherly 
union  and  friendship  than  have  subsisted  between 
the  pastor. and  the  elders  I  do  not  expect  to  enjoy 
until  I  get  to  heaven.  Let  no  bickerings,  no  little 
jealousies,  no  heart-burnings  arise  among  you.  Keep 
your  great  work  in  view,  and  keep  steadily  at  it. 
This  will  shut  out  of  the  Church  a  hundred  difficulties 
which  otherwise  would  be  sure  to  creep  in.  If  you 
do  not  understand  a  brother,  go  to  him  and  talk  to  him 
face  to  face.  Look  each  other  in  the  eye  honestly  for 
five  minutes,  and  you  will  understand  each  other.  I 
charge  you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "  Let 
brotherly  love  continue." 


FAREWELL    SERMON.  345 

II.  You  have  the  risen,  the  ascended,  the  glorified 
Saviour  as  pastor. 

A  pastor  is  a  shepherd.  He  feeds  and  leads  the 
sheep.  Christ  is  the  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep. 
He  is  the  great  Pastor  of  the  Church.  Others  are 
only  under-shepherds.  So  that,  in  this  sense,  a  church 
can  never  be  without  a  pastor. 

When  Christ  came  from  the  tomb  he  did  not  forget 
his  work.  He  was  still  the  great  Shepherd  of  the 
sheep.  His  interest  in  his  mission  is  as  great  now  as 
it  was  when  he  wore  the  crown  of  thorns  and  carried 
his  cross  to  Calvary  ;  although  exalted  and  crowned, 
he  is  still  the  great  Shepherd.  His  interest  in  his 
work  has  not  abated  an  iota,  and  his  shepherd's 
crook  is  the  sceptre  of  the  worlds.  To  that  sceptre 
every  power  in  the  universe  is  subject,  it  extends  over 
every  interest  of  the  Church  and  of  the  believer  and 
is  always  at  their  service.  He  delivered  his  people 
from  Egyptian  bondage,  he  made  a  path  for  them 
through  the  sea,  he  led  them  through  the  desert,  he 
planted  them  in  the  Promised  Land,  he  brought 
them  back  from  captivity,  he  made  the  preaching  of 
fishermen  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of  God 
to  the  overthrow  of  false  systems  of  religion  and  of 
philosophy,  and  to  the  building  up  of  the  kingdom  of 
righteousness  in  the  earth.  Even  to  this  day  he  has 
made  good  every  promise  which  he  has  ever  spoken 
concerning  his  Church.  The  good  Shepherd  gave  his 
life  for  the  sheep  ;  will  he,  after  that,  abandon  them 
to  their  enemies  ?  No  !  he  will  lead  them,  feed  them, 
and  defend  them  even  unto  death.  He  unites  in  him- 
self all  divine  offices  and  attributes,  and  he  devotes 
himself  without  reserve,  in  the  fulness  of  these  offices 


34^  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS, 

and  attributes,  to  each  one  of  his  people.  He  who  is 
the  faithful  witness,  and  the  "  First  Begotten  "  of  the 
dead,  is  also  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth  ; 
and  this  Redeemer  is  your  Redeemer,  and  this  God  is 
your  God.  It  is  considered  a  great  honor  and  advan- 
tage to  have  a  friend  at  court,  but  your  friend  is  the 
King  himself — the  King  of  kings,  the  King  of  glory, 
the  King  of  the  universe.  The  great  Pastor  leads, 
feeds,  and  defends  his  people,  and  will  do  so  even  to 
the  end. 

I  have  stood  beside  many  death-beds  in  this  con- 
gregation. I  have  been  with  the  people  of  God  in 
great  affliction,  in  deep  troubles,  but  I  have  never 
heard  one  of  them  complain  that  Jesus  Christ  had 
proved  faithless  to  his  promises — never.  I  have  stood 
beside  many  of  your  friends  and  acquaintances  in  the 
trying  hour,  who  looked  death  in  the  face  as  calmly 
as  they  would  look  into  the  face  of  one  of  their  chil- 
dren, or  of  one  of  their  dearest  friends.  Through  the 
grace  of  this  good  Shepherd  I  have  seen  those  who 
believed  on  him  die  not  only  without  fear,  but  in 
rapture  and  triumph.  I  could  stand  here  and  relate 
incidents  and  reminiscences  by  the  hour. 

The  room  in  which  Lillie  Fletcher  died  was  the 
gate  to  heaven.  It  seemed  as  though  she  no  longer 
belonged  to  the  earth,  but  was  speaking  to  us  from 
the  portals  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  having  already  seen 
its  glories,  and  being  no  stranger  to  its  experiences. 

If  ever  there  was  a  cool,  clear  intellect,  it  was  the 
intellect  of  Jane  Porter.  As  she  lay  dying,  the  very 
exquisite  essence  of  the  promises  of  God  seemed  to 
be  filling  her  soul.  She  felt  the  dew  from  the  everlast- 
ing mountains  falling  upon  her.     She  calmly  watched 


FAREWELI.    SERMON.  347 

the  symptoms  of  approaching  death.  "  There,"  said 
she,  *'  is  the  rattle  in  my  throat.  I  shall  not  be  able 
to  talk  much  more."  The  room  growing  dark  to  her, 
she  remarked  that  the  lamp  had  gone  out,  but  when 
told  that  it  was  still  burning,  she  said  :  "  Then  my 
sight  is  gone.  Lay  my  hands  across  my  breast,  and 
stand  around  me  and  see  how  a  Christian  can  die. 
Death  is  not  like  what  I  thought  it  was  at  all.  I 
thought  it  was  painful,  but  there  is  no  pain.  I 
thought  it  was  cold,  but  it  is  not.  It  is  but  a  step." 
This  was  not  fanaticism  or  enthusiasm,  it  was  calm, 
clear,  strong  faith,  looking  up  through  the  pearly 
gates.  Her  mind  was  intensely  active  to  the  last,  and 
was  perfectly  unclouded.  It  was  a  beautiful  and 
triumphant  death. 

One  Sabbath  night  after  services  I  went,  in  a  drench- 
ing  rain,  to  see,  for  the  last  time,  old  Mrs.  Alexander. 
In  the  beginning  of  her  sickness  she  had  spoken  to 
me  of  her  being  "down  in  the  ashes,"  but  then  she 
was  in  the  land  of  Beulah — on  the  mountain  of  myrrh 
and  the  hill  of  frankincense.  To  the  question  as  to 
whether  she  was  suffering,  she  replied  :  "  Oh,  no  !  Oh, 
no  !  "  with  an  emphasis  and  an  intonation  as  much  as 
to  say,  "  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  suffer.  This  is 
heaven  !  "  Her  five  sons,  her  daughter  and  her  son- 
in-law — all  good  singers — joined  in  singing  her  favorite 
hymns,  she  participating  as  long  as  her  strength  lasted. 
The  room  was  filled  with  melody,  and  thus  she  went 
up  singing  to  the  gates  of  glory. 

Fannie  Black  was  not  only  willing  to  die,  but  had  a 
great  longing  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ.  She  said  : 
"  I  have  not  the  slightest  desire  to  get  better.  I  am 
just  waiting  till  Jesus  calls  me.     I  only  want  to  be 


34^  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

with  Jesus."  Then  tenderly  putting  her  hand  on  her 
mother's  cheek,  and  looking  at  her  sister  Blanche,  she 
said  :  ''  Dear  mother  and  dear  sister,  much  as  I  love 
you,  I  do  not  want  to  stay  with  you  any  longer.  I 
only  want  to  be  with  Jesus.  You  must  give  me  up.  I 
have  arranged  all  my  earthly  affairs.  I  leave  my 
child,  but  I  have  not  a  care.  I  only  want  to  be  with 
Jesus.  I  haven't  breath,  or  I  would  praise  him  all 
the  time  here — all  the  time,  if  I  had  breath."  When 
she  could  no  longer  talk,  her  countenance  would  be 
lighted  up  with  smiles  of  wonderful  sweetness  in 
response  to  the  precious  truths  and  promises  of  the 
Word  of  God.  Her  face  shone  as  though  it  had  been 
the  face  of  an  angel. 

Thus  the  Great  Shepherd  has  left  his  record  all 
through  this  congregation,  and  in  no  single  instance 
has  he  proved  faithless  or  abandoned  his  people  in 
the  hour  of  trial.  Through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death  he  has  been  with  them,  his  rod  and  his  staff 
have  comforted  them. 

III.  As  the  charter  of  right,  and  of  privilege,  and 
of  salvation,  you  have  the  blood  of  the  everlasting 
covenant. 

Redemption  is  not  a  new  idea  nor  an  untried  expe- 
dient ;  but  it  was  devised  by  infinite  wisdom,  was 
executed  by  infinite  power,  and  is  secured,  at  every 
step  and  at  every  point,  by  eternal  covenant. 

God  made  a  covenant  with  Israel  at  Sinai,  which 
was  solemnly  ratified  by  the  sprinkling  of  sacrificial 
blood  upon  the  people.  Thus  they  became  His  cove- 
nant people.  He  became  their  God,  and  led  them 
and  protected  them,  and  saw  that  their  clothes  waxed 
not  old   upon  them,  and  that  their  shoes  waxed  not 


FAREWELL    SERMON.  349 

old  upon  their  feet.  "  He  kept  them  as  the  apple  of 
his  eye."  ''  He  made  them  to  suck  honey  out  of 
the  rock,  and  fed  them  with  the  fat  of  the  kidneys 
of  wheat."  Under  the  new  order  the  people  of  God 
are  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  thus  they 
become  his  covenant  people  and  he  becomes  their 
covenant  God.  Will  he  be  any  more  slack  in  fulfill- 
ing the  conditions  of  this  new  covenant  than  he  was 
in  fulfilling  the  conditions  of  the  old  ?  "  Honey 
from  the  rock  "  and  the  ''  fat  of  the  kidneys  of  wheat  " 
but  faintly  symbolize  the  richness  and  fulness  of  the 
spiritual  blessings  which  God  has  in  store  for  his 
people.  Has  he  ever  proved  faithless  to  a  single 
pledge  ?  The  blood  of  Christ  guarantees  every 
promise,  from  that  which  secures  the  bread  which 
shall  be  given  and  the  waters  that  are  sure,  to  that 
which  opens  the  gates  of  the  eternal  city,  and  puts  a 
palm  in  every  victor  hand  and  a  crown  on  every  victor 
brow.  We  pray  to  and  we  work  for  a  God  who  is 
faithful  to  his  promises. 

The  session  of  this  church  would  be  worse  than 
infidels  if  they  did  not  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer. 
There  have  been  many  wonderful  instances  of  direct 
answers  from  heaven.  When  I  returned  from  Europe 
the  first  time,  on  the  first  Sabbath  that  I  preached, 
as  I  remember,  I  was  surprised  to  see  Dr.  George 
McCook,  Sr.,  enter  the  church.  He  sat  just  there. 
You  all  knew  him.  Who  in  this  city  did  not  know 
him  ?  You  know  the  kind  of  a  man  he  had  been.  He 
was  a  good  and  an  eminent  citizen,  a  man  of  great 
intellect  and  of  prodigious  force  of  character,  yet,  in 
respect  of  religion,  he  had  been  careless  and  reckless 
and  had  grown  old  and  gray-headed  in  sin  and   rebel- 


350         OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

lion  against  God.  He  was  at  that  time  nearly  eighty 
years  of  age.  On  that  Sabbath  day,  or  a  few  Sabbath 
days  after,  as  I  walked  down  the  aisle  at  the  close  of 
the  service,  one  of  the  elders  proposed  a  concert 
of  prayer  in  the  session  for  the  conversion  of  Dr. 
McCook.  In  a  few  weeks  afterward  this  man  was 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  lecture  room  with  the 
fervor  of  an  apostle  and  with  the  simplicity  of  a  little 
child.  He  was  an  illustrious  trophy  of  redeeming 
grace,  and  oh  !  how  he  magnified  that  grace  which 
could  save  an  old  and  hardened  sinner  like  him. 
Two  years  afterward  I  visited  him  when  on  his  death- 
bed in  New  Lisbon,  O.  Although  weak  in  body, 
his  mind  was  strong  and  clear,  and  his  spirit  was 
rejoicing  in  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  I  have  no  more  doubt  than  I  have  of  my  own 
existence  that  his  ransomed  spirit  is  before  the  eter- 
nal throne  this  morning  singing  praises  to  the  Great 
Shepherd  of  the  sheep.  This  is  but  one  instance.  I 
could  relate  reminiscences  of  this  kind  by  the  hour. 
God  is  a  faithful  God,  a  God  who  answers  prayer, 
who  has  answered  prayer,  and  who  will  answer  prayer 
in  all  succeeding  ages. 

IV.  Perfection  in  every  good  work  should  be  the 
aim  of  each  human  life. 

In  all  living  things  there  is  movement.  The  Chris- 
tian cannot  be  stationary.  Where  there  is  spiritual 
life  there  will  be  spiritual  growth  and  spiritual  prog- 
ress, and  the  standard  is  perfection. 

Three  things  are  necessary  to  the  health  and  growth 
of  the  body — food,  air,  and  exercise.  Corresponding 
to  these  in  the  spiritual  sphere  are  knowledge,  prayer 
and  activity.     The  Word   of   God   furnishes  spiritual 


FAREWELL    SERMON.  351 

food,  prayer  is  the  breath  of  the  Christian,  and  work 
for  the  Master  develops  the  powers.  Where  these 
cease  with  respect  to  a  Christian,  he  ceases  to  grow  ; 
and  when  they  cease  with  respect  to  a  church,  it  ceases 
to  grow.  Do  not  forget,  my  brethren,  that  the  mo- 
ment you  cease  to  think  of  and  to  work  for  others, 
that  moment  you  begin  to  die.  Keep  your  beneficent 
agencies  therefore  in  vigorous  operation.  Do  not 
attempt  to  confine  your  Hfe  within  your  own  circle. 
I  know  that  in  the  judgement  of  some  I  have  spent 
too  much  time  in  preaching  on  benevolence  and 
beneficence  ;  but  in  looking  back  over  the  past  I  am 
satisfied  that  I  have  not  preached  on  these  subjects 
enough.  This  church  has  been  blessed  because  it 
has  cultivated  the  grace  of  giving.  Its  quickened 
and  developed  spiritual  power  has  manifested  itself 
in  various  agencies  and  organizations  for  Christian 
activity,  such  as  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  the 
Young  Ladies'  Missionary  Society,  the  Woman's 
Prayer  Meeting,  the  Young  Men's  Prayer  Meeting, 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  the  Mis- 
sion Sabbath  School.  These  all  have  been  organized 
within  the  last  fifteen  years,  and  they  have  been  a 
source  of  untold  blessing  and  power  to  this  congre- 
gation. Do  not  let  them  die.  Cherish  them.  Watch 
over  them,  for  so  long  as  these  organizations  have  life 
in  them  you  will  have  life  in  the  church  itself. 

Do  not  forget  ordinary  duties.  Do  not  neglect  the 
regular  Sabbath  services,  nor  any  part  of  them.  Do 
not  forget  the  Wednesday  evening  prayer  meeting. 
Do  not  suppose  that  by  doing  some  great  thing  once 
in  a  while  you  can  condone  for  your  neglect  of  these 


352  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

ordinary  weekly  duties.  The  power  and  efficiency  of 
a  church  depend  largely  upon  the  interest  that  is 
taken  in  these  meetings  and  exercises.  Be  regular  in 
your  attendance  at  all  the  services,  and  be  there 
punctually.  There  is  no  excuse  for  being  late  at 
church.  There  is  one  fact  which  I  mention  here  with 
some  pride  and  complacency  ;  and  that  is  that  in  the 
past  fifteen  years  I  was  never  late  at  a  single  meet- 
ing of  any  kind  except  once.  This  morning  fifteen 
years  ago  I  came  in  a  buggy,  over  very  rough  roads, 
from  Sewickleyville,  twelve  miles  away,  and  I  was  a 
few  minutes  behind  time,  but  never  afterward.  It  is 
easier  to  be  punctual  than  to  be  tardy.  Cultivate  this 
virtue.  The  aim  of  the  Christian  is  a  high  and  noble 
one.  It  is  no  less  than  perfection  in  every  good  work. 
Let  this  aim  be  yours.  In  all  our  efforts  we  have  as 
an  unfailing  source  the  infinite  sufficiency  of  Christ. 

''When  I  am  weak  then  ami  strong,"  This  was 
the  experience  of  the  apostle,  and  the  conditions  of 
Christian  experience  have  not  changed  in  these  eigh- 
teen hundred  years.  We  are  earthen  vessels,  but  we 
can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
us.  Attempt  nothing  in  your  own  strength.  It  is  the 
privilege  of  the  believer  always  to  lean  upon  the 
omnipotence  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  this  omnipotence 
he  finds  available  in  all  crises  and  emergencies,  and 
finds  it  adequate  to  all  necessities.  The  presence  of 
Jesus  can  make  a  pile  of  blazing  fagots  a  bed  of  roses, 
and  "  a  prison  a  palace,  a  garden  of  pleasures,  a  field, 
an  orchard  of  delights."  Dear  old  Samuel  Ruther- 
ford used  to  say  :  "  I  am  taught  in  this  ill  weather  to 
go  on  the  lee  side  of  Christ,  and  put  him  in  between 
me  and  the  storm."     So  you  can  always  put  Christ 


FAREWELL    SERMON.  353 

between  you  and  the  storm.  Live,  work,  fight,  and 
suffer  through  Jesus  Christ.  Without  him  your 
strength  is  as  brittle  as  rotten  stubble  ;  without  him 
your  good  resolutions  are  as  weak  as  the  smoking 
flax.  In  the  humble  and  faithful  discharge  of  duty 
we  are  always  helped.  When  I  have  leaned  on  God 
in  my  weakness  I  have  never  been  deserted  ;  but 
when  I  have  trusted  to  my  own  wisdom  and  strength  I 
have  always  been  discomfited.  I  have  come  into  this 
pulpit  more  than  once  without  either  text  or  sermon, 
but  if  I  came  in  the  right  spirit  I  was  always  carried 
through,  whereas,  if  I  trusted  to  finely  elaborated 
trains  of  thought,  I  proceeded  as  heavily  as  the  wheel- 
less  chariots  of  Pharaoh  in  the  Red  Sea.  The  years 
in  which  my  preaching  was  most  extemporaneous,  and 
according  to  my  own  judgment  and  criticism  most 
worthless,  were  the  years  in  which  we  reaped  the 
richest  harvests  ;  while  the  year  in  which  I  preached 
the  most  elaborate  sermons  during  my  ministry  here 
was  the  year  in  which  there  were  fewer  additions  to 
the  church  than  in  any  other  in  all  the  fifteen. 
When  I  was  best  prepared  intellectually,  I  ordinarily 
preached  the  worst.  When  I  have  preached  with 
some  kind  of  intellectual  complacency  I  have  never 
heard  that  any  good  came  of  it,  but  when  I  have  so 
preached  that  I  was  ashamed  to  face  the  congrega- 
tion in  pronouncing  the  benediction,  I  have  heard  of 
souls  being  converted  and  comforted  by  the  sermons. 
"When  we  are  weak  then  are  we  strong." 

VI.  The  end  of  all  is  the  glory  of  Christ. 

The  Christian  labors  for  no  mere  secular  ends,  nor 
for  results  which  are  uncertain  or  perishable.  Riches 
dissolve  like   snow,  empires  crumble,  but   every   par- 


354  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

tide  of  true  Christian  work  goes  into  the  imperishable 
results  of  the  economy  and  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
consequently  cannot  be  lost.  Nothing  of  this  kind 
can  ever  be  lost.  The  desires  and  aspirations  of  the 
Christian  are  for  the  glory  of  Christ,  and  his  labors  go 
in  along  with  the  work  of  the  Master  to  contribute  to 
the  supreme  end.  This  furnishes  a  motive  and  an 
aim  worthy  of  a  rational  immortal  creature.  If  you 
give  your  time  and  your  effort  to  mere  temporal 
schemes  you  spend  your  life  upon  that  which  sooner 
or  later,  and  probably  very  soon,  will  crumble  to 
nothingness ;  but  if  you  put  your  work  and  your 
prayers  into  spiritual  enterprises,  you  contribute  to  that 
which  is  imperishable. 

There  was  a  young  man  in  this  church  who  became 
dissipated,  was  cast  out  of  the  membership,  broke  his 
young  wife's  heart  and  sent  her  to  a  premature  grave, 
spent  all  he  had,  and  through  his  debaucheries  ruined 
his  physical  constitution.  He  set  himself  deliberately 
to  lead  a  fast  life  and  to  see  what  was  in  it.  I  sat  by 
his  cot  in  one  of  the  public  hospitals  of  this  city  as  he 
was  wasting  away  in  consumption,  and  in  tones  that 
thrilled  along  every  fibre  he  told  how  he  had  tried  sin 
and  carnal  pleasure  and  had  found  them  a  cheat,  a 
hollow  cheat!  How  he  had  been  defrauded  of  his 
life,  how  Satan  had  decoyed  him  by  his  promises  of 
pleasure,  and  how  all  these  promises  had  proved 
utterly  hollow  and  false  !  He  always  returned  to  this 
idea  that  he  had  played  a  game  with  Satan,  but  that 
he  had  been  overreached,  overmatched,  deceived,  and 
made  a  laughing-stock  for  devils.  So  will  it  be  with 
everyone  who  rejects  Christ  for  the  sinful  pleasures  of 
this  world.     I  speak  to  young  men'this  morning  whose 


FAREWELL    SERMON.  355 

feet  are  planted  in  the  very  path  in  which  this  young 
man  went,  and  sooner  or  later,  that  path  will  lead  to 
the  same  bitter  experience.  Young  men,  do  not  let 
the  devil,  by  his  lies,  cheat  you  out  of  your  lives,  your 
happiness,  your  souls.  Consecrate  yourselves  to 
Christ,  and  let  your  lives  be  a  perpetual  rendering  of 
the  doxology  :  "  To  Him  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever." 

Fifteen  years  ago  this  morning  I  began  my  ministry 
here  by  preaching  on  Rev.  i.  5,  6,  *'  And  from  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  the  faithful  witness,  and  the  first  be- 
gotten of  the  dead,  and  the  prince  of  the  kings  of  the 
earth.  Unto  him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from 
our  sins  in  his  own  blood, 

"  And  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God 
and  his  Father  ;  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for 
ever  and  ever.     Amen." 

Thus  I  began  my  ministry  here,  and  thus  by  the 
grace  of  God  I  have  continued  even  unto  this  day. 
The  prophethood,  the  priesthood,  the  knightship,  and 
glory  of  Christ, and  the  glory  resulting  to  his  people 
through  these  offices,  these  have  been  the  themes  of 
this  pulpit.  I  have  not  preached  to  tickle  itching 
ears,  or  to  produce  popular  sensations.  I  have  not 
gone  to  the  columns  of  the  daily  newspapers  or  to 
^sop's  Fables  for  texts,  nor  have  I  gone  to  old 
almanacs  for  illustrations.  I  have  had  always  enough, 
both  of  subjects  and  of  matter,  in  the  Bible.  To-day 
I  look  over  my  course  in  this  respect  with  ineffable 
satisfaction.  The  experience  of  the  past  fifteen  years 
in  this  church  proves  that  people  will  come  to  hear 
the  plain,  simple  Gospel,  and  that  an  interest  can  be* 
sustained  without  clap-trap  and  demagogism.  If 
sinners  have  been  converted  and  believers   have  been 


356  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

fed  and  comforted  and  strengthened,  the  result  aimed 
at  here  has  been  accomplished. 

It  is  not  Strange  that  I  should  have  an  interest  in 
this  church.  Here  I  labored  as  a  Sabbath-school 
teacher  during  my  course  in  the  Theological  Seminary. 
Here  my  deceased  brother  spent  the  one-half  of  his 
ministry.  Innumerable  ties  bind  me  here.  These  are 
strengthened  by  a  thousand  tender  memories  and  asso- 
ciations, and  only  a  clear  and  imperative  call  of  duty 
compels  me  to  sever  them.  They  will  be  severed,  how- 
ever, only  in  an  official  sense.  In  reality  f  trust  they 
shall  never  be  broken.  I  have  given  the  best  years  of 
my  life  without  stint  to  this  church,  and  I  do  not  regret 
any  toil  that  I  have  endured  or  any  sacrifices  that  I 
have  made  for  its  sake.  The  work  has  been  its  own 
reward  and  has  paid  me  a  thousand-fold.  I  have 
enjoyed  preaching  the  Gospel  here  as  I  never  expect 
to  enjoy  anything  again.  The  happiest  hours  of  my 
life  have  been  spent  in  this  pulpit  and  in  the  little 
pulpit  downstairs,  and  in  my  intercourse  with  the 
elders,   officers,   and   members  of   this  congregation. 

But  these  years  are  gone  and  their  record  is  made 
up.  What  years  they  have  been  !  What  changes,  what 
revolutions,  have  taken  piece  !  What  thrilling  his- 
tories have  been  enacted  !  Fifteen  years  ago  Louis 
Napoleon  was  the  arbiter  of  Europe.  His  nod  or  his 
frown  convulsed  Cabinets  and  Senates.  We  have 
seen  him  a  prisoner  and  an  exile.  Fifteen  years  ago 
Prussia  was  scarcely  a  third-rate  power  in  Europe. 
Now,  under  the'  lead  of  Prussia,  Germany  is  consoli- 
dated into  a  mighty  empire.  Fifteen  years  ago  French 
bayonets  propped  up  the  tottering  temporal  power  of 
the  Pope.     Now  the  Pope  has  no  temporal  power.     Fif- 


FAREWELL    SERMON.  357 

teen  years  ago  there  were  Jour  millions  of  slaves  in 
this  country.  Now  there  is  not  one.  Fifteen  years 
ago  the  great  Civil  War  was  just  beginning.  During 
these  eventful  years  we  have  worked  and  prayed  and 
wept  together.  On  a  Sabbath  morning  came  the  news 
of  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg.  On  a  Sabbath  morn- 
ing came  the  first  uncertain  tidings  of  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  On  a  Sabbath  night,  just  after  service,  all 
the  bells  of  both  cities  began  to  ring.  It  was  thought 
by  many  to  be  an  alarm  of  fire,  but  it  was  the  announce- 
ment of  the  surrender  of  Lee.  On  the  next  Sabbath 
morning  I  came  through  a  sobbing  congregation  to 
a  pulpit  heavily  draped  in  black.  President  Lincoln 
had  been  assassinated.  During  all  those  awful  years, 
the  memory  of  which  comes  over  us  as  a  horrid  night- 
mare, we  prayed  and  wept  and  hoped  and  sorrowed 
together  ;  and  I  reckon  it  not  the  least  of  the  mercies 
of  God  toward  us  that  we  were  carried  through  these 
fearful  crises  without  any  schism.  So  far  as  I  know 
only  one  man  ever  left  this  church  because  of  any 
utterances  from  the  pulpit,  and  you  know  whether  or 
not  this  pulpit  has  been  muzzled.  These  have  been 
wonderful  years  and  have  been  full  of  peril  and  of 
trial,  but  in  every  emergency  we  have  been  enabled  to 
say  Jehovah  jireh^  and  at  the  close  of  every  year  and 
epoch  we  set  up  our  Ebenezer. 

At  our  first  communion  Robert  Scott — of  blessed 
memory — handed  me  an  envelope  containing  a  list  of 
those  who  had  been  added  to  the  church.  I  put  it  away 
carefully  and  ever  since  I  have  preserved  these  lists  in 
the  same  manner.  There  are  sixty-two  of  them,  one  for 
each  communion.  There  has  not  been  a  single  commun- 
ion without  additions  to  the  church,  and  but  three  at 


358  OCCASIONAL    ADDRESSES    AND    SERMONS. 

which  there  were  no  additions  by  profession  of  faith. 
What  a  history  these  lists  represent !  How  hearts  have 
throbbed  and  swelled  as  they  were  read  ! 

I  shall  never  cease  to  thank  God  that  He  has  per- 
mitted me  for  fifteen  years  to  proclaim  "  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ "  in  this  pulpit.  I  should  rather 
have  done  that  than  to  have  governed  an  empire  for 
the  same  length  of  time.  Some  upon  whose  foreheads 
I  put  the  water  of  baptism  in  infancy  have  been 
admitted  to  sealing  ordinances.  We  have  much  for 
which  we  ought  to  be  thankful.  Let  us  not  be  for- 
getful of  our  mercies.  I  do  not  wish  to  make  you 
sad,  but  if  I  were  to  open  the  flood-gates  of  memory 
I  could  stand  here  by  the  hour  and  call  up  reminis- 
cences which  would  make  us  all  weep.  But  I  do  not 
wish  to  send  you  a\vay  sorrowful  ;  I  would  rather 
send  you  away  happy  and  rejoicing.  I  am  thankful 
for  the  past,  and  I  commend  you  to  the  God  of  peace 
for  the  future. 

My  work  as  pastor  is  done.  It  has  been  full  of  im- 
perfections, but  I  can  truly  say  that  it  has  been  sincere 
and  earnest.  I  have  not  sought  yours  but  you.  I 
have  not  coveted  filthy  lucre.  I  have  labored  for  the 
good  and  for  the  advancement  of  this  church.  I  leave 
without  a  particle  of  ill-feeling  toward  any  member  of 
the  congregation,  or  toward  anyone  who  ever  has 
been  a  member  of  it.  If  I  have  injured  anyone  in 
thought,  word,  or  deed,  I  humbly  beg  pardon. 

And  now  I  must  hasten  to  a  close.  The  hour  has 
come  which  separates  us  as  pastor  and  people.  With 
the  tenderest  memories  of  the  dead — what  a  host  of 
them  !  how  I  miss  them  !  all  around  through  the  con- 
gregation I  see  their  faces,  I  hear  their  voices,  I  feel 


FAREWELL    SERMON.  359 

the  pressure  of  their  hands — with  the  tenderest  memo- 
ries of  them,  with  the  sincerest  esteem  and  affection 
for  all  the  living,  and  with  the  most  earnest  prayers 
for  your  present  and  eternal  welfare,  from  my  heart 
of  heart  I  say  the  final  word,  Farewell,  and  God  bless 
you.     Amen  and  amen. 


THE  END. 


I 

'■l"""l'0l"2""0i'2b8  2873 


DATE  DUE 

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GAYLORD 

FRONTED  IN  US    A. 

